Pledging to Die (An FBI/Romance Thriller Book 11) (43 page)

“I’ll love you forever,” she promised, as she shook at his gentle invasion. “You’re all that matters to me.”

He took his time, knowing that Joey needed that soft touch to show how precious she was to him. She’d suffered so much in her life, and now he never wanted her to hurt again.

“I love you, sweetheart. You’re the only woman I’ll ever want in my life. I’m finally at peace.”

They kissed, making a vow. As the heat rose, their breathy gasps filled the room.

Brody was close, and he couldn’t wait to fill her as they fell. Here was his heart.

His one.

His only.

“Johanna!” he hissed, as she tightened down around him, pulling Brody with her off into the abyss.

It was the most amazing feeling in the entire world.

This was what it felt like to be complete.

All those weeks mourning her leaving, and now he didn't ever have to be alone again. Now he would have her to himself.

This was his Joey.

As they both caught their breaths, neither moved. Her legs held him to her, until he finally lifted his head.

“You need to be safe tonight. I have this really bad feeling in my gut.”

She had it too.

Only, it wasn’t about her.

It was about him.

“I’ll do it quickly, and then get back in here. Lose the other woman fast, or she’s going to get hurt. If I have to see her touching you, someone’s going home with a few broken bones.”

He laughed, leaving a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. “Why, Johanna Madden, are you jealous?” he teased.

She didn't even hesitate.

Why bother?

It was part of the reason she’d showed up there early. She didn't want to share the best thing in her life now that they’d made that commitment to each other.

“Yes, I am. If I wasn’t, then you should be worried.”

He grinned that wicked boyish smile of his.

It was the one she fell in love with.

“I think I can manage to keep my hands to myself. After all, you just wore me the hell out.”

She winked. “Oh, did I? That’s such a crazy plan. Who would ever try something like that?”

He rested his head on her shoulder. “You’re trouble.”

Yeah, she was well aware, but so was he.

Chapter Fourteen

Saturday Night

Brody couldn’t believe that he was out trolling for babes while his girl was upstairs playing cat burglar. It was all just too crazy.

As he moved around the party, he saw Arman, Sutton, and the rest of the goon squad heading down into the basement. When the door closed, he wondered if he should intervene. If there was a girl down there, she had to be in trouble.

Then he thought about his girl upstairs. If she didn't get her ass out of those rooms, she was the one who was going to be in trouble, and from the Blackhawks.

Their cover would be blown.

So, he made the choice to stay down there in the party as he checked out the women. As long as they were locked away in the basement, he didn't have to play Casanova to some innocent sorority girl.

As he turned around, he could have sworn he saw Nels Lucas moving around the crowded room. As he repositioned himself, he couldn’t find him again.

He was being silly.

The man would be at Arman’s side.

He wouldn’t be wandering the party.

Then it hit him.

If they wanted to watch him, of course someone would be trying to sneak around. It worried him. Not because of the girl, but because if they were spying on him, that meant they suspected something.

Shit!

It was possible his cover was blown.

Brody looked around, desperately trying to find Nels as he avoided the occasional ass grabs from the sorority sisters. Only ninety minutes into the party, and they were already drunk.

This didn't bode well for any of them.

For a brief moment, he wondered if he should call his bosses and give them the heads up, but then he thought about Joey.

She was upstairs and in danger.

He had to spend the next hours searching for Nels. While the others were behind locked doors, they wouldn’t be the issue. Now, Brody had to contend with something so frightening.

His gut had been right.

       
         
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  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

She quietly went from room to room, making sure not to leave any trace that she’d been there.

In Garrick Tran’s personal space, she found nothing. The man was a total nerd, and the poster with the periodic chart was proof enough. If he was hiding drugs for Arman, he wasn’t doing it in his room.

He was simply a brother trying to be inducted into a sick fraternity.

Joey soon realized that much was the same for Sutton Lucas. As she snuck silently into his room, making sure no one was following her, she found the mother lode all right—of condoms.

Holy hell!

By the look of it, the boy liked to fornicate.

What grossed her out even more was that she honestly contemplated stealing one for a DNA match.

Then common sense kicked in.

The Blackhawks would have her head on a silver pike for showing up at the lab with any DNA swiped from the room. It was bad enough she was ignoring Ethan Blackhawk’s orders.

Why push it?

Creeping down the hall, she bypassed a few people making out. They were oblivious to her being there, and that was probably a good thing. They’d never notice she was even there.

Once inside Hervey Westly’s room, she heard her partner in her ear. He was doing his check in, and honestly, she was glad. It helped reassure her that she wasn’t alone. What Johanna would have preferred was if it was Brody as her life line.

She trusted him with her life.

Jason…yeah, not so much.

“I’m good. No one’s around,” she replied, when he asked how it was going.

“I’m not reading your trace. Turn it on,” stated Jason Blaise as he sat back in his hotel room with the recording equipment monitoring his partner.

She did as he asked, and then began rifling through Hervey’s drawers. When she found a few bottles of Xanax, she knew she hit pay dirt.

“Jason, I have pills. It looks like I found where the supply is coming from,” she stated.

Reading off the pharmacy, and the customer names, she waited for her partner to tell her that he had them. While she couldn’t take them, the team could research which of the five men were taking meds.

It was a loophole, but she’d take it.

“Awesome work, Johanna. We’re going to break this wide open,” he stated. “You and me, kid. It’s going to be our shiny gold star.”

She didn't care. The only reason she was there was because of Brody. There was danger, and she couldn’t leave him in this alone.

“Just keep your ears on me. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing up.”

“Chill. I have you. Nothing is going to happen to you. Stop freaking out.”

She put everything away where it belonged before heading for Arman’s room. Instead of heading out into the hallway, she went out and onto the ledge. It was a little more secure as she worked her way along the house, trying not to look down.

If she didn't die, it would be a miracle.

Joey really thought she’d been an idiot for doing this. There was no doubt in her mind they were going to get fired.

Poor Brody.

She was taking him down with her, and he loved her enough that he wouldn’t even say a word. 

As she stood outside Arman’s window, she thought about backing out and heading back to Brody’s room. Worse came to worse, she could pretend she’d come to see him.

Then she could help him scare away the sorority girl he was likely luring up there.

No.

She had to finish.

Johanna had already violated civilian’s rights, why not finish it up? It was too late to go back.

As she lifted the window, she moved into the bedroom. With the light filtering in from behind her, she could see that Arman liked to keep the place clean.

Again, like Sutton, there were tons of condoms, and it spoke to how much sex they were getting.

She couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Then she felt him.

As Johanna went to turn, someone was on her. She fell backward to the bed, a large figure pressing her into the mattress.

As she fought to save herself, a forearm was pressed against her throat.

The room spun.

“If you wanted into our rooms, you should have just asked,” Nels hissed, pressing firmly on her throat.

Johanna struggled for breath. “Help!” she hissed, hoping her com was picking everything up.

“We have a date with the rest of the boys,” he said, watching her eyes roll back into her head. “They’ll decide what to do with you, bitch. I promise it won’t be fun. Well, not for you!”

With that, Johanna felt the gray swallowing her. Her heart thudded so loud, that was all she could hear.

Finally, there was nothing.

Fear took over.

And she blacked out.

       
         
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  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

One Hour Later

Brody searched for Nels, but he couldn’t find him lost in the crowd. That worried him until he returned back to the main room, only to find that the basement door was wide open.

They were done.

Shit!

He had to figure out a way to get to Joey and warn her. He checked to make sure that they weren’t watching him, and he made his move. Creeping up the stairs, he went from room to room, knocking on the door.

He figured if need be, he could make up some excuse about how he wasn’t feeling well and heading to bed.

Only, he couldn’t find them.

Brody also couldn’t locate Johanna.

She wasn’t in any of the men’s rooms. At that point, he had to pray she was hiding in his closet.

Maybe he’d get lucky.

Ignoring the couples making out against the walls of the hallway, he pushed into his room and closed the door.

Softly, he called for her.

When she didn't answer, his heart began pounding in his chest.

What he wanted to do was call her.

If something happened to Johanna, he was screwed.

Then the house went silent.

The music stopped, and he could hear people heading down the stairs.

Something wasn’t right.

Had the cops raided the place?

Was the FBI stopping the party?

Brody thought about all the possibilities.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to head downstairs to find out what was going on.

Hopefully, he would get some answers.

If not, he was going to freak the hell out.

       
         
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  B l a c k h a w k - W h i t e f o x   * * *

He watched from the shadows. The party appeared to be letting out.

That pissed him off.

He was supposed to grab that one girl, and now he wouldn’t be able to.

Damn it!

This was going to be his final one before he stopped. She was going to be the last gift he found and delivered.

Now, he was screwed.

For a few minutes, he watched the people leave the party, and there was a sense of panic in him.

If he failed…

It didn't matter. He simply couldn’t.

Instead, he’d have to do what needed to be done.

Watching the pack of people disbursing into the night, he made sure that there weren’t any cops around.

That would be a bad thing.

If he wanted to pull this off, there had to be one lost lamb. She would be the one he chose.

Heading out of the house was a girl who was stumbling. She looked like she was drunk and drugged up.

He couldn’t believe his luck.

There would be one tonight after all. So what if it wasn’t the victim he planned. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and he knew it.

With her appearance from the frat house, he could keep his promise, take the girl, and deliver the goods.

As she stumbled toward the walkway, there was no one else in sight. He wanted to grab her and end her life before she screamed, but something else urged him on.

Her clothes were askew.

She looked disheveled.

Instead of pity, he felt powerful.

In that instant, she’d not only be a sacrifice to the cause, but she’d make him very happy. Stepping out of the shadows, she stared up at him.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I think so. I don’t feel so well,” she said, nearly falling over.

When he moved toward her, he was able to catch her at the very last second before she hit the ground. “I have you. I’ll take care of you.”

She dropped her head to his shoulder. “Thank you. I can’t believe you were here.”

His body roared to life. Since tonight was going to be his last night doing this, she would be his going away present.

“My car is over here,” he offered, carrying her through the woods.

This one he would take home.

He’d use her.

Take her precious gift.

And make her a memory no one would ever forget.

Tonight, he’d enjoy this, since the end was so very near.

“Come on, honey. You shouldn’t be out here like this. You have a very special gift, and I need it.”

She barely moved her head.

Everything was too fuzzy.

“What?” she asked. “What do you mean? Aren’t you going to take care of me?” she asked.

Oh, he absolutely was going to do just that.

And he couldn’t wait.

With that, he got her into his car unseen.

It was meant to be.

Tonight was turning out better than he planned. 

       
         
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