Chapter Twenty-Three
“She has to go into witness protection.”
Aiden turned toward Kathy. Of course the others would have sent her.
The Shop was quiet, the last of the five salvageable cars were gone and the product bagged and tagged for the FBI drop CJ would do in another couple of hours. It was time to get home and rest before they all pretended it was another normal day at Classic Rides.
Kathy leaned against the door and peeked in.
Madison sat curled up, her head resting on a desk that had been in the warehouse when they’d taken it over after an FBI raid and seizure. He pulled the door shut and turned to face Kathy.
She lifted her hand and rested it against his cheek, giving him a sad smile. Motherly wasn’t a term he’d use to describe Kathy often, but she had her moments.
“She got to you. There’s nothing wrong with that. Truth be told? I’m glad to see you still have it in you, but think about her future.”
Aiden turned and took two strides away—but to where? There was nowhere to go that this wouldn’t follow him. Kathy didn’t make any sound, but he felt her presence.
“She needs to go away. Maybe just for a little while, Aiden.”
He got it. He hated it, but given the options, he’d rather see Madison alive instead of dead. Except he couldn’t speak around the lump in his throat. Couldn’t tell Kathy to shut it and stop beating him over the head with the truth he already knew.
“It isn’t fair.” She sighed and rested her elbows on the workbench, chin resting in her palm, gazing up at him. “Did you know when CJ and I got married our boss tried to bully us into getting it annulled?”
Aiden swallowed his pain down, focusing on this rare glimpse into CJ’s and Kathy’s lives. They might play the role of being one of the crew, but they also held themselves a bit apart.
“I thought the FBI didn’t have rules on employees dating or being married?”
“Someone’s done their homework. They don’t, but it’s not exactly smiled upon. By then CJ and I had worked in the field and been a couple for, damn, five or six years. Getting married was just me being old-fashioned. Some things we do for the job, and some things we do for ourselves. You need more for yourself, Aiden, and I’m sorry it has to be this way, but maybe when all this is cleared up she can come back.”
“I hope she doesn’t.” He lifted his gaze to the ceiling. “I hope she goes somewhere and finds a new life she doesn’t want to leave behind.”
Aiden didn’t know how long this thing with Evers would take or where it would go, but he didn’t want Madison to wait for him. Today’s false hope was hard enough to swallow. She had a life to live, and he’d chosen his path, regardless that he liked to blame the FBI for backing him into a corner.
“Think you can talk her into lying low until we can get the paperwork rolling for her?” Kathy asked.
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you take the morning off? I can open the shop.” She squeezed his arm. “Say good-bye. Make it count.”
“I’ll do that.” He scrubbed a hand across his face. The lump was back. Good-byes sucked.
Kathy turned and headed for the bunker, a long room they’d outfitted with cots and some emergency medical equipment. They’d set Roni up after Kathy’s initial checkup. The twins would have to keep a low profile for a while until they knew if the cops connected them to the theft at the airport or not. It was doubtful, since the FBI had scrubbed the national databases of their existence, but there was always a chance something could go wrong. And it usually did to some degree.
He stood once more, facing the office door. Once he woke her up, there would be questions he couldn’t answer. For a few, brief seconds, she’d looked at him with suspicion and distrust, and though he’d deserved it, he hated it too.
Kathy was right about one thing, he needed something for himself. There was more to life than taking Evers down, and he’d lost sight of that. Madison had made him realize there was more than the job. He couldn’t replace her. No woman would touch his soul as she had, but life rolled on.
Aiden pushed the office door open and winced when it squeaked. Madison inhaled sharply and sat up straight, swaying in the chair and blinking.
“Hey, it’s just me,” he said quietly.
“Hey.” She rubbed her face, smearing a bit of the makeup on her cheek.
“Come on, let’s get some sleep.” He took her hand and tugged her to her feet.
“Where we going?”
“My house. Canales got picked up on a minor charge and is spending the night in jail, so we’re good.” For tonight, at least. Very soon, they’d have to do something about the crew leader.
“Oh, good.”
He guided her out to the street where he’d parked one of their many secondary vehicles. Once he got Madison situated and buckled, he checked in with Emery one last time to make sure the coast was clear.
It took three car changes and nearly forty-five minutes to make the trek home, but on nights like these, it paid to be cautious. They’d never before been able to make a grab at Evers so directly. Usually they were catching chatter that a shipment had arrived and snatching it from his lackeys or even his buyers. Things were about to get a lot more interesting now that they made a direct hit. Not to mention Dustin was going to get a new asshole when the bitcoins turned up fake.
Tomorrow was going to suck. The waiting was the worst, and they’d be stuck sitting on their hands to see what Evers’s next move would be. The most telling thing would be where the blame fell. Right now, the easiest scapegoat would be Madison. She had too many ties to Evers and working at the airport was too convenient.
If he’d stuck to the plan and had little to do with her, would things have turned out differently?
Aiden pulled the Challenger into the barn and cut the engine. Madison was still out cold. No surprise there. He leaned against his door and watched her for a moment. Though the interior was dark, he knew the shape of her face well enough to trace it in by memory.
How was it she’d wormed her way into his heart in such a short amount of time?
“Hey. Wake up.” He gently shook her.
Madison groaned and sat up, blinking around her.
“We’re at my place. Come on.”
He got out and made it to her side of the car before she’d even unfastened her seat belt. He took her hand and helped her out of the car. Chances were it would be the last time. Tomorrow he’d turn her over to FBI agents who would make her into a new person.
They left the barn behind and entered his house through the kitchen. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had been to his place, save Julian.
“Wow, nice kitchen.” Madison strolled around the square kitchen with its island.
“And I barely cook. Irony is that the sellers redid it just before I bought it.”
“That’s a shame.” She opened the fridge.
“Shit. Are you hungry?” There wasn’t anything in his fridge or freezer considering he barely had time to sleep here as of late.
“Not really, just being nosy.”
“You should probably get some sleep. Why don’t you take my bed?” He’d reinforced the exterior wall and window. The door also had a sturdy lock and kickplate, which made it the safest room in the house, because again—he mostly just slept here.
Madison merely blinked at him, still half asleep on her feet. He took her hand and led her through the living room and into his bedroom. How he wished this were under different circumstances. He’d like nothing better than to lock the door and spend the next couple of hours getting lost between the sheets, except he couldn’t do that. Tomorrow, she’d hate him for taking her life away.
“Bathroom’s through there. If you need anything, holler, okay?”
She glanced at the big, king bed then at him.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I’ve got a few things to do.” Like, make the couch into a bed, where he’d lie awake all night.
“Are you going to tell me anything?” She walked to his side of the bed and sat down on the edge, arms wrapped around herself.
“I can’t. It’s safer the less you know.”
“But you work for the FBI?”
“I didn’t say I worked for them.” Not that they hadn’t offered, but that was one noose he’d like to keep his neck out of.
“But, why couldn’t the FBI just raid the airport?” She toed off her shoes and turned toward him.
He bit his lip to keep from saying more. God, wouldn’t he like to know the answer to that?
“Can you just tell me if I did the right thing? If helping you was worth it?” She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, looking so small and lost.
Aiden went to her, sitting next to her and reaching out to grab her hand.
“Our methods aren’t exactly normal, but we’re fighting the good fight, I promise you. What we’re doing—it’s keeping drugs off the street. And we’re working on the source. That’s what I can tell you.”
Madison blew out a breath. “Okay.”
“Get into bed.” He got up and pulled the covers down, holding them for her while she slid between his sheets and snuggled his pillow.
Aiden kissed her cheek, unable to just leave her.
“Finish up your stuff and come back to me, okay?” she said.
He didn’t answer, because he wouldn’t be joining her. It was past time to cut the string binding them together. Severing this connection was going to suck, but it had to be done.
Aiden tiptoed out of the room and closed the door behind him. Despite the weariness wearing him down, he needed to do something. He grabbed his laptop from his hall closet hiding spot and settled in on the couch. Though electronic surveillance was mostly Emery’s gig, there were a few things anyone could do.
He brought up a couple popular social media sites and the profiles of several of the Eleventh’s key players. The chatter could sometimes be a tip-off. Most of the pertinent posts he could see on the public profiles were trash talk to the effect of getting even.
Another time, and Aiden could have spun this, figured out a way to deflect the Eleventh’s attention, except they couldn’t afford to take an eye off Evers. Whatever his next move was going to be would change the game.
He fired off a message to Emery, CJ, and Julian.
Looks like 11th will make bail 2morrow.
They’d have to figure out something to keep them busy. Maybe set them up, though Aiden didn’t like it. The crew was getting crooked enough they’d make their own bed, but it would be highly convenient to shove them in the pen now.
Evers’s people were silent online, which seemed to be protocol when shipments were due to arrive. It would be impressive if it weren’t a criminal organization.
Aiden’s phone beeped with an incoming text from Emery.
Go to bed. Just made delivery.
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. With Emery’s magic touch, they were able to move the cars. It wasn’t a legal disposal of evidence, but considering their operation was poised to straddle the law, it worked. Besides, the people who bought the cars thought they were getting a used car special. Once the odometer was tweaked a little, no one was the wiser, unless they knew what they were doing. And they usually didn’t. About the only people with enough cash to buy the flipped cars would be rich boys and people who wanted to play in their world. The drugs would go to the FBI, simply because their crew’s only other option was to destroy the product and that could get messy. Easier to let the Hoovers handle the stuff for evidence.
If their operation were a normal FBI gig, the cars would sit in evidence. But because their mission was deep cover, flipping the cars gave them street cred. They might figure out a way to pin this on Evers yet, but they had to play their role true to the very end.
He set the laptop on the coffee table and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. If anything, he was more awake now than before. Which sucked.
The bedroom door swung open. He knew he shouldn’t look, but he couldn’t stop himself. Madison had stripped down to her tank top and panties. Her hair was drawn over one shoulder and she leaned against the door slightly. It was a visual he didn’t need, because now he’d want to see that every morning.
“When you coming to bed?” she asked.
“Go back to sleep. I’m—working on a few things.” He gestured to the closed laptop.
Distance. Staying away from her. That was what he was doing. It was the right thing to do. For her and him.
Madison, however, hadn’t gotten that memo. She walked toward him, and instead of telling her to go away or that she couldn’t be privy to his work, he stared at her, committing this moment to memory. Her odd, half smile, the way her hair was messy, how her nipples pebbled beneath the cloth and the flex of her thighs as she moved. He’d never particularly admired a woman’s thighs, at least not until her bout in that skirt.
She straddled his lap, one hand on his shoulder while she drew a pattern on his cheek with the other.
“I’m not all that tired anymore,” she said.
Inwardly he groaned. This couldn’t happen. In a couple of hours, she’d hate him. Wouldn’t she?
“Madison, we should talk.”
“Why? What do you want to talk about?” She didn’t let him answer. She kissed him, her warm, soft body melting, her arms wrapping around him.
“Tomorrow,” he managed to get out between kisses.
“Fuck tomorrow.” She buzzed his lips then chuckled. “Actually, fuck me instead.”
It was tempting. His body was already reacting, his cock stiffening, his blood pumping, but he couldn’t. Could he?
She kissed his lips, his face. Her touch was tender, wearing him down in the one way he couldn’t defend against. If she wanted to hit him, he knew what to do. But when she treated him with care, when she made him smile and laugh, he had no defense for that. None at all.
Tomorrow, he’d regret this, but right now, he wanted her.
Aiden cupped the back of her head and pressed close, scooting to the edge of the sofa until their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. She moaned and moved her hips. He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. A wave of pleasure rolled over him.
He wrapped his arm around her hips and stood, swaying slightly as he found his center of balance. Madison gasped and clung to him, kissing his neck and the sensitive place just behind his ear. He carried her into his bedroom, shoving aside tomorrow and what would come next in favor of being in the moment.
If this was the last time he got to be with her, why shouldn’t he enjoy it?
He set her down on the edge of the bed and stepped back, admiring her. She smiled and it felt as though an invisible fist gripped his heart. Losing her was going to suck. A piece of him would go with her, wherever she went. Even if she hated him. He’d always love her, even when she left.
She slid off the bed and reached for his shirt. He shook off her hands, but she pushed them away.
“Let me, for once?” She grasped the hem of his shirt and tugged the dirty, grease-stained garment up and off.
He tossed it toward the hamper, not caring if it made it in or not. She grasped his waistband and loosened the belt, leaving it in the loops while she tabbed his jeans open. There was nothing hurried about her movements. She paused to kiss his chest, just over the tattoo. Her fingers smoothed over his side, trailing over a scar and following the line of muscles along his abdomen. She unzipped his pants and he toed out of his boots.
Madison’s knees buckled, but he caught her by the elbows and walked her backward until she hit the edge of the bed.
“I’m not that patient tonight,” he said.
She sat back on the mattress, her eyes a little larger. He pushed the rest of his clothing off and stepped toward her. Madison’s gaze slid down his body. She wanted him. He could see it in the way she stared at him. In time, if they had it, maybe he could win her heart, but they had hours left. He wouldn’t tell her how he felt, but he’d show her, and maybe in a year or more when she didn’t hate him anymore, she’d remember tonight and realize that he loved her.
Aiden splayed his palms over her thighs and ran his hands up, under her tank top. Madison lifted her arms, arching her back. He continued his journey across her stomach and to her ribs. Her breasts filled his hands, and for a moment he paused, squeezing them. She grinned up at him, that impish glint in her gaze. She was trouble, through and through.
He needed her. Now.
He kissed her, pushing her back onto the bed. She wiggled her tank top up and off, seemingly just as hungry for him as he was for her. He kissed down her neck, worshipping her body. Every inch of her had to be committed to his memory. He pushed the thoughts of why away, and focused on her. This moment.
He plumped her breasts, pushing them together and gently rolling the peaks between his fingers. She arched her back and groaned. He loved that sound, how she seemed to lose herself in what they did, completely surrendering herself to the passion between them. He kissed one nipple, then the other, taking his time with each.
“I thought you said you weren’t patient.” Madison’s voice was low, husky.
“I’m not. I’m busy.”
Aiden hooked his fingers into the waistband of her panties. Hadn’t he put these very panties on her this morning? It seemed like ages ago. He tugged them down, running his palms along her thighs and down her calves. She had fantastic legs.
It didn’t elude him that in helping him she was giving up everything. He couldn’t ask that she love him, he hoped she never felt the way he did about her, because it would break him. This woman, this innocent and infuriating woman, could break him.
“We’re doing this right,” he muttered. He pulled the blankets and sheets down to the foot of the bed.
Madison rose to her knees, kneeling in the middle of the bed, and fuck if he didn’t wish he could take a picture of just how damn sexy she was. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders, long enough to barely cover her areolas, yet she gave no mind to her nudity. All she wore was a smile. He couldn’t risk a picture or even a memento of what they had. Only memories.
He grabbed a condom from the box he’d left on the nightstand. The receipt was still stuck under it from when he’d stopped at a drugstore a couple of days ago—just in case. He crawled into the bed and she snagged the foil packet before he could stop her.
Madison ripped it open, plucking the latex and tossing the wrapper over the side of the bed. He reached for it, but she held it away.
“I’m doing it,” she said.
He opened his mouth to tell her exactly what was going to happen but . . .
How could he deny her?
“Go on then,” he said.
He sat back on his heels and waited for her to scoot closer.
Madison’s smile widened. She edged closer, wrapped her hand around his cock, and leaned in.
“Oh hell no. I’m coming inside you tonight.” He dug his fingers into her hair and brought her face to his, kissing her deeply. She groaned and her grip tightened on his erection. He broke the kiss, sucking in a deep breath. Her hand slid up his length.
“Is that so?” Her smile couldn’t get any bigger. Just looking at her like this was the best thing in the world.
“You wouldn’t have come to me if that wasn’t what you wanted.”
“You got me.” She lifted her shoulders. “I want you. All of you.”
He released his hold on her hair, not trusting himself to say anything more.
She rolled the condom while holding his gaze, and if he weren’t mistaken, her cheeks tinged just the palest pink. What they had was special. He liked that she felt free enough with him to be bold, even if it was at times damn inconvenient.
Madison placed her knees on either side of his. Her hands went to his shoulders before he caught on. He might not agree with all her decisions, but this one he could get behind. Aiden cupped her ass, steadying her. She straddled his lap, her breasts pressed against his chest, and their faces perfectly aligned. When she came, he’d see it play out on her face.
She chuckled and moved her hips, grinding against him.
“That’s going to feel a lot better when I’m inside you. Trust me,” he said.
“I do.”
He plunged into her depths with his fingers. She sucked in a deep breath and dug her nails into his shoulders.
“Oh.” Her fingers flexed and she leaned on him more. He curled his fingers, stroking her inner walls.
“I do love how wet you get,” he murmured against her cheek.
She shifted her hips in time with his hand, fucking herself. It was so damn hot.
He withdrew his fingers and placed the head of his cock at her entrance. She shifted back and forth, rubbing herself against him. He pressed his hand to her back and she lowered, sinking onto him. He watched the way her face tensed, took joy in the way her jaw dropped and she gasped, eyes squeezed shut. A groan escaped her lips. The sensation of her body around him, squeezing his length as they joined.
She bumped his nose with hers, a fleeting smile on her lips. She breathed deep and looped her arms around his neck. Their breath mingled while their bodies adjusted. She was so tight. She tilted her hips, pressing her pelvis to his, and kissed him, gently this time.
Madison moved first, rising up on her knees. He cupped her ass, supporting and guiding her. Her breasts slid up and down his chest, each pass of flesh scored his skin, down to the muscle. She moaned, and it took everything in him to not put her on her back and pound into her. Letting her pick the pace and find her pleasure was a whole other treat though.
At first Madison’s pace was easy, slow. Their gazes remained locked and she kissed his brow, his nose, and his mouth, peppering his face with kisses as she rose and fell. She quickly sped up, until her breasts were bouncing and their mingled, labored breathing filled the air. His control was fraying, but damn if this wasn’t the hottest thing. He moved his hips with her, trying to increase the friction, hit just the right spot.
Madison tipped her head back. She sucked in a breath, the rhythm faltering. Her moan was music to his ears. But he wanted her to look at him. To see her pleasure for himself.
Aiden wrapped his arms around her and laid her on the mattress. She stared up at him, tendrils of hair sticking to her face and so much emotion in her gaze. Wasn’t that what he’d wanted to see? That she cared?
He thrust hard and her lips parted. He drove into her harder until the bed knocked against the wall and her eyes fluttered wide and dilated. She groaned and dug her nails into his shoulders and down her back.
“Fuck,” he groaned.
There was no way he’d hold out.
Aiden thrust deep and his orgasm rolled up through him. She did this to him—made him completely lose control. He ground his pelvis against hers, momentarily lost in the pleasure of her body. Madison’s breath hitched and she let out a long groan. Her internal muscles tensed around him. He rocked into her, his vision hazing while her orgasm drew his out. It seemed to go on and on, until he didn’t think he could stand it anymore.
Boneless and spent, he sagged against her, dropping his head to her shoulder.
Simultaneous orgasms. Pretty amazing.
Madison stroked his shoulders and kissed his cheek. He lay there for a moment, catching his breath, Madison staring up at him with a smile on her face.
He loved that happy, contented look.
Aiden gently pulled out, hissing at how sensitive he was. He flopped down beside her and pulled her against his chest. She curled up next to him, head on his shoulder. This moment was perfect. Everything he could have wanted.
He loved her. And tomorrow—she would be gone.