Twenty-Nine

Oakley

“Well, isn’t that sweet?” a deep voice drawled.

I opened my eyes as Wilder’s arms locked around me.

King was standing in the room, looking at us with an amused gleam in his eye. “Y’all got about five minutes before we have company. And one of them is someone you probably don’t want to walk in and see this, but on the other hand, it would be entertaining as fuck.”

“Shit,” Wilder muttered. “Do you not fucking knock?”

King shrugged. “I did. No answer. I thought I might find this and was giving you a heads-up. Thatcher, Storm, and Sebastian are on their way out here. We have an update, and we have to get moving.”

I started to get up, but Wilder didn’t release me. If anything, his hold got tighter.

“Go outside and wait for them. I’ll come open the door when we’re ready.” His voice was thick with sleep, making his annoyance sound sexy.

“If I keep them from coming in, then they’re gonna know why,” King said.

“I don’t give a fuck. Oakley needs some privacy to get dressed. Get out!”

I shivered, suddenly very turned on. That voice with his naked chest pressed against my bare back did things to me.

King gave me a look like he could read my mind and chuckled before turning to leave. “Hurry it up,” he called out.

The moment the door closed, Wilder released me. “Go get dressed or showered. Whatever you need to do.”

When I didn’t move, he let out a groan. “Oakley, please.”

I sighed and tossed back the covers, then stood up.

“Jesus,” Wilder hissed. “Cover up.”

I glanced back at him over my shoulder. “Why? You’ve seen it all.”

He ran his hand over his face. “Fuck, Oakley. We have to deal with the real world this morning. I need my head on straight.”

Knowing I affected him was a balm to my soul.

“Okay,” I replied but continued strutting naked as I made my way to the bathroom. “Do I have time for a shower?”

“Yeah.”

I smiled brightly at him before letting the curtain fall closed. Turning on the shower, I waited for the water to warm before stepping under the spray. I heard the other men come inside. I hurried to finish, and when I opened the shower door, I saw a folded pile of clothing with a pair of my panties and a bra from my house on top. They’d brought me something of mine to wear.

Happy at the idea I wasn’t going to be drowning in a sweat suit meant for a large man, I got out, dried off, and dressed in my jeans and a lightweight cream sweater that hung off one shoulder. Once my hair was towel-dried enough and I found a toothbrush and toothpaste to clean my teeth, I headed out into the room that was now full of men. All of who I knew.

My eyes went to Sebastian. I hadn’t seen him in three years. I smiled at my old friend, who had been there for me when I needed it. I was glad to see him.

“Hey,” I said when a slow smile tugged on his lips.

“Hey, Oak,” he replied.

Wilder stepped in front of me then, and all I could see was his back. “Let me talk to her about all this, and then we will meet y’all at the house.”

“We need to get moving,” Thatcher demanded. “Just tell her now.”

“He’s gone territorial. They fucked, and he’s messed up over it. Give him a little room,” King added.

Wilder moved, and I reached out to grab his arm with both my hands.

“Wilder,” I said as he tried to pull free from me without jerking me too hard.

He stared back at me, and the fury in his eyes startled me. His head swung back around toward the others.

“Easy, tiger,” King said, holding up his hands. “I was on your side.”

“Does anyone care about the issue here, or do I need to let Blaise Hughes walk in here and make sure everyone is on the same fucking page?” Thatcher drawled.

I stepped beside Wilder. “All right, boys, what is happening?” Then, I looked up at Wilder. “I don’t need protecting.”

His eyes narrowed, and I turned to look at the others again.

“See, Oak wants to know,” King said.

“Maxon Carda has been captured and is being held in our underground in Ocala,” Thatcher said, then looked at me pointedly. “You know him as Hamilton. That’s not his name. And your friend Daphne? Her real name is Lyra Carda. She’s Maxon’s younger sister by thirteen months and five days. Tanner, her boyfriend, is in fact Tanner Angelos.”

“Carda?” I asked, making sure I had heard him correctly.

He nodded. “Yes. Carda. As in Carda Global Marketing. Your former employer.”

“I think I need to sit down,” I whispered and walked over to the sofa. This made no sense to me. Why the alias names? Why get close to me?

“We need to know when and how you got that job, but first, we have to prepare you for what has to be done,” Thatcher said. “Maxon isn’t talking. We weren’t aware that the people we were dealing with, importing the lethally laced drug, were from a powerhouse like Carda. We assumed it was low-level criminals, the Miltos to be exact. A gang out of Atlanta. There is more to this that we need answers to. That’s where you come in. You are all we have that holds any power over Maxon.”

I shook my head. “We haven’t been dating that long, and he put a bomb in my car.” How did that give me any power? He had been using me. I just had no idea why? And Daphne… I thought we were friends.

Thatcher shrugged. “That might be, but you worked for his father for over three years. He has known you longer than you realize. And he’s”—he waved a hand at me—“affected by the package. Like these two were. Are.” Thatcher waved his finger at Sebastian, then Wilder. “We need you to talk to him. Get answers. See what he will tell you.”

“No,” Wilder snarled, causing me to jump. “She’s not getting near him.”

Thatcher raised an eyebrow. “Want to tell Blaise that? Because he’s waiting on us to bring her to him.”

“FUCK!” Wilder roared.

“Maxon is chained up,” King said to him. “What are you worried about? He can’t hurt her.”

Wilder ran his fingers through his hair and then fisted his hands. “She shouldn’t have to be mixed up in this!”

“But she is. And we need goddamn answers. Carda is a big deal, and if we take them on, then Blaise is going to need to call in all the family’s backup,” Thatcher told him. Then, he looked at me. “Are you willing to do this?”

I nodded. I had to. They were right. I was already a part of this. I just didn’t know why.

“Why me? Why did they befriend me? I don’t understand,” I said still trying to grasp this all.

Thatcher shrugged. “Not sure. Perhaps they found the connection to the family by way of Wilder, when you applied for the job. A background check would have been run on you. They would have seen your relation to him. It’s interesting that after you quit working for them Daphne kept the connection, introduced you to Maxon. They were keeping you close.”

“I’m going in with her.” Wilder’s words sounded like a demand.

“He knows she’s connected to you. He probably knows about your past with her. They are thorough in their research. If he thinks you’re protecting her or laying a claim on her—like your territorial ass did the moment Sebastian spoke to her—then it’s going to work against us. You can’t go in with her. But Blaise said he’d have his best men there. Nothing is happening to her.”

“What do I need to do?” I asked before Wilder could say anything more.

“We have a flight to Ocala, and I’ll run through it all with you,” Thatcher assured me.

I stood up. “Okay. Then, let’s get this done.”

“Do we know who the guy”—Wilder paused and glanced at me—“that Maxon is demanding we return is?”

Thatcher’s expression didn’t change. It remained cold and unaffected. “Tanner Angelos. His sister’s fiancé.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. Tanner? Funny goofball Tanner? He wasn’t dangerous. And they weren’t engaged. Was that yet another lie?

Maxon had a different air to him. Something that made me believe it was possible that he could be a bad guy. He was smart. Too smart, too educated, too refined for an underwear model. He tried to hide those things, but they showed up. I hadn’t thought much about it… until now.

“Tanner Angelos was behind a drug that is similar to crack, but is laced with shit that causes the user to become cannibalistic and at times attempt to eat someone alive. That is, if it doesn’t kill them first. We don’t want it in this region, and it’s showing up in high schools. Kids are getting ahold of this. The Carda family had been working with him on infiltrating this into the states for the past five years,” Thatcher said. “They’re killers. All of them. But we need to know more before we kill the Carda heir.”

Kill. They were going to kill Hamilton. No … Maxon. And cannibalism? I shivered. That sounded horrible.

I took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

I turned to Wilder then, who was watching me, as if he was considering throwing me over his shoulder and bolting. “I’ll be fine,” I assured him.

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he stalked out of the cave.

“He’ll calm down,” King said, then nodded for me to follow.

Sebastian moved over to walk beside me. “You’re still breaking hearts and taking names, it seems.” His tone was teasing.

I glanced at him and gave him a pointed look. “That’s not true, and you know it.”

His eyes went to the door ahead. “Looks like things have changed with him.”

I felt hope trying to burst free in my chest. Last night had been eye-opening for both of us, and then the sex had been … life-altering. We hadn’t gotten a chance to talk about it though.

“I think so,” I replied.

“He’s an idiot. He always has been when it comes to you.”

I smiled, but it didn’t meet my eyes. He had his reasons, and they weren’t mine to share. But I didn’t blame him. Not now that I knew the truth.