Night Moves: A Shadow Force Novel Read online

  CHAPTER

  9

  Reid had cut off Teddie’s concerns about getting through the border. Taking a wanted woman with him out of Mexico had been of less concern than getting them all out of the danger that seemed to be closing in on them from all sides.

  He’d called Dylan, got Cam instead, but he was just as good for what Reid needed. And he didn’t curse Reid out, just made some calls and got Reid the contact. Now Reid followed the directions Cam had given him until he saw a new truck waiting for them, one with Texas plates. He pulled next to it and helped Teddie out. Then he carried Kell—who was fighting sleep by this point—putting him in the new truck.

  He took off the old plates off and replaced them with another set that were stored in the back of the new truck. Tossed the old Mexico plates down a nearby ravine off the side of the road, and then motored the vehicle the three hours toward their new safe house.

  Teddie was stoic—she didn’t complain, merely roused Kell every now and again once he’d finally given in to sleep, to make sure he could come to consciousness.

  He did, and that made Reid breathe easier.

  “You’ve done this before—saved him,” Teddie said finally from the dark of the backseat.

  Reid glanced at her in the rearview mirror, catching sight of the concern on her face. “We’ve done this rescuing-each-other shit back and forth for a while. Hell, he’s saved a lot of people. It’s his calling—he’s a natural.”

  “You know him well.”

  “I used to. These days …” Reid broke eye contact in the mirror as his words trailed off.

  “I figured. You can only fight with someone like that if you love them.”

  Reid nodded, kept his eyes on the road.

  “I hate to think I’ve come between you,” she continued.

  “You were the straw that broke the camel’s back, but it wouldn’t have taken much,” Reid admitted. “You can’t hurt him. He’s been through too much shit already.”

  “What’s going to happen now?”

  Reid wondered if Kell was listening to every goddamned word, then decided he didn’t care. “He’s gotten close to you, against all odds. I’ve never seen him act like this.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “He needed to let himself heal, and I’m not talking about physically, from these most recent wounds. He needs to forgive himself.”

  “Do you forgive him?”

  “I’m close.” Reid smiled in spite of everything, his face sore and bruised from the earlier fight. “We’re family. It happens.”

  “What about your biological family?”

  His face clouded. “They’re dead. My family’s Kell, my other teammates. It’s a lot more than most people have.”

  It was true—because it was more than she had—and Reid didn’t appear to feel sorry for himself.

  “I can’t believe you risked everything to get me across the border with you.”

  “Kell wouldn’t have wanted you left behind, no matter what,” Reid said. “I had to honor that.”

  “What’s going to happen now? Do you think that bomb was meant for me, or for you?”

  Good damned question. “It doesn’t matter—we still need to deal with the mercs. Kell’s the one to take you farther than this. I’ll stay behind and distract the marshals.”

  “I can’t ask you to do that.”

  “You didn’t.” Reid ran a hand through his hair. “When we were teenagers, Kell saved me for the first time. Like I said before, he was always helping people, even when he didn’t want to. It’s like he was born a hero.” Reid smiled.

  “A reluctant one,” Teddie acknowledged.

  “We pooled our money and left the foster home when we were seventeen. Decided that we needed more funds if we were going to leave Alaska. So we took the highest-paying job we could find, on a crab boat. We were the lowest on the food chain, and Christ, it was such a shitty job, cutting bait, freezing our asses off. But after six weeks, we had more money than we’d hoped for.”

  “So you left Alaska then?”

  “No, we went out on the boat twice more. I guess we were always gluttons for punishment.” Reid glanced at Kell. “After that, we went to California. Got ourselves into some minor trouble and realized pretty quickly we had to find something more constructive to do.”

  “The Army.”

  “It kept us busy.”

  “Kell said he’s not in anymore.”

  “Right. I am, although only until the end of the year.” He paused. “I’ve never seen him like this with any woman, and like I said, I’ve known him since we were sixteen. I saw the way you looked at him, the way you’ve been with him since he got hurt. And I know you’re afraid of him—you should be in some ways. But you’ll have to get past that.”

  But you’ll have to get past that.

  Right now Teddie felt as though she’d promise anything as long as Kell was all right.

  She’d held his hand the entire time Reid spoke, reassured once again by the warmth she felt there, and also from Reid’s stories. After his more serious speech, he spent time telling her about some of the trouble he and Kell had gotten into when they were crabbing, and then in boot camp.

  Finally, they pulled into a gated house with an attached garage and parked inside it. She nearly wept that they’d made it here safely.

  “Teddie, are you all right? Can you get out and open the door so I can bring Kell inside?” Reid asked, and yes, she could. There was only one patient here—Kell—and she wanted to help.

  She climbed out and opened the door, followed Reid as he carried Kell to the nearest bedroom and laid him down. She tried not to gasp when she saw the gash in his scalp in the light, and then she noted the blood seeping onto the pillow from what must be a wound on the back of his head. She hadn’t noticed it in the truck. There were multiple other cuts and bruises as well, and she helped Reid tend to them all.

  Finally, Kell was bandaged and Reid went to shower, since he was covered in smoke and dirt. When he came out in fresh clothes, she switched with him, not taking too long because she didn’t like the idea of leaving either man.

  As if she was the one who could save them or something. But still, she hadn’t done a bad job of it today, she thought as she toweled off and put on some fresh clothes she’d pulled from Kell’s bag.

  When she came out of the shower, she noticed that Reid had stripped Kell of his shirt and tucked him into the bed using a blanket he’d found. He pointed to a closet, where she located some extra pillows.

  “Why don’t you get some sleep?” he said.

  “No, why don’t you get some sleep. I’ll stay up with him,” she told Reid, who shook his head.

  “You stay here with him. Sleep if you need to. I’ll be keeping watch.” He left the room quietly, shutting the door behind him.

  Hearing those bombs go off had been terrifying. Reid had working surveillance much of the night before. She’d had much more sleep than him, but she knew Reid would insist on remaining on guard no matter what she said.

  She was grateful to be able to stay with Kell, watching over him. Letting him rest and recover. She got under the blanket, getting as close to him as she possibly could without putting pressure on his many cuts and bruises. Stroked his hair and smiled when he murmured and burrowed against her, his head to her breasts. Smiled, because he was murmuring her name.

  Everything hurt. Staying asleep—unconscious, whatever—would be far easier than this, but he kept sensing movement around him. Not being able to hear yet was frustrating and scary and he needed to see what Reid and Teddie were planning.

  When he opened one eye with a squint, he knew he was in a safe house and not a hospital, which was a start.

  “You hurting?” Reid asked him then—Kell was reading lips, hearing a bit, but he knew Reid was yelling.

  Kell shook his head and Reid continued, “Don’t try to be a goddamned martyr.”

  Wishing he could punch Reid instead of nod, he
settled for the latter, got a pill and some water and pointed to his ears.

  “Only been a few hours. Give it time.”

  Kell nodded, willing the strong meds to work their magic. He didn’t know where the hell they were, could’ve sworn he saw a border guard looking in on them, which could only mean that Reid was down with helping Teddie.

  He owed his best friend a hell of an apology.

  When he woke again, his head was buried against Teddie’s breasts, and damn, that was the best thing to open his eyes to. Her nipples were hard through the thin cotton T-shirt she wore and he nuzzled against her, felt vibrations in her chest and was sure she was saying something, probably asking if he was okay.

  He was about to be way more than okay.

  His hands went under her T-shirt, tugged it up until her breasts were bared to him, the nipples a dusky rose color. He moved to tongue her nipple, then drew it farther into his mouth, her hands moved to his hair as if to hold him in place, the delicious laving making her squirm. The too big pants slid off her hips easily. She was naked now against him and he needed to be naked too. Like, right goddamned now.

  She obviously agreed, since she was tugging at his shirt and pants. He felt like he was floating, and God, the drugs were kicking his ass.

  He didn’t let that stop him, worked her other nipple as his hands dipped lower, between her legs to finger the wet heat … which was all for him. He was swimming through the murk, because he had to have her, right now, needed to make her his … couldn’t afford to let her slip away.

  He vaguely heard some sounds—maybe she was saying his name, but his shirt was off and she was pulling him up toward her, unbuttoning his pants, helping him take them off and kick them away.

  He pressed his lips to the base of her throat, feeling vibrations pulsate against them. His cock brushed her wet sex, her legs spread, and she would let him take her.

  He’d lost total control and she didn’t seem to mind, although he only had her body’s responses to go by, like the slick between her legs, turgid nipples, the vibrations he felt when he kissed her throat. She smelled like flowers and honey and everything good.

  He wouldn’t open his eyes for fear this was just a dream. If it was, he didn’t want to wake up anytime soon.

  He slid against her, his cock brushing her sex, the sensations of skin on skin so intense, he could probably come against her stomach and again inside of her. His hands touched her face as hers twined in his hair and then moved down his back. Her legs wrapped around his body as if urging him closer still, and her hand reached down to circle his cock and guide him inside of her.

  When he first entered her, he had to stop and breathe, fought not to take her as hard as he wanted to. She was so hot and tight, and holy fuck, he was shaking from the effort of not moving.

  But she was moaning, loudly enough that he could catch the edges of it, and it urged him on to push inside her harder. When he did, her back arched, hands slid down his sides and nails dug in once he’d finally fully penetrated her.

  He pushed up on his palms and rocked his body against hers. He moaned, couldn’t judge how loudly, but it made him open his eyes to catch her smile and he nearly lost it then and there.

  Her eyes were the colors of the jungle—browns with a hint of mossy greens, exotic—and he could crawl into her the way he had them and lose himself, the way he was doing right now. Her legs locked around him, holding him at the waist, urging him on, to take her without the usual slow finesse he would’ve given her if it had been a different time or place.

  But it wasn’t. This was what they had in the here and now and he was done trying to explain it or make excuses for it. He wanted her—had wanted to drive into her like this since she’d pulled the gun on him.

  The fact that she appeared to want him equally as much made it that much sweeter as he pumped his hips and let her sex sheath his with its moist heat.

  He was so deep inside her, she felt the spear of pleasure in her womb.

  “Please, Kell” was all she could say, and she didn’t know if he’d heard her or could read her lips, but he was taking her, pulling her body up to his, with his hands splayed across her lower back as if he’d never let her go. The strength of his body hadn’t failed to surprise her over the past days, but even now, wounded as he was, she felt like he could still take on an army and win.

  Strong, and yet so gentle. The combination turned her on so completely, she felt like she could come immediately. But she didn’t want this to end that soon.

  She hadn’t realized how badly she needed this, needed him. Had never expected him to come out of his sleep this way, his eyes still closed and him so hurt and yet his arousal pressed against her belly, and she couldn’t have stopped him.

  No, that wasn’t true—she hadn’t wanted to, let him breathe a kiss against the side of her neck, allowed his hand to roam under her shirt to squeeze a nipple to a taut peak and then caress it so a straight shot of pleasure went from breast to groin.

  That had been just the beginning of things. “Kell, I’m going to—”

  “Come, Teddie,” he murmured, as he took her with fast strokes and the orgasm came, hot and more intense than she’d ever experienced.

  There was something to be said for the combination of sex and danger.

  Kell hadn’t stopped moving while she came, contracting around him as if the ripples would never end … and she just hung on to him and heard herself cry out again.

  “You’ll come again,” he told her, like he could command the orgasms from her, and right now, she didn’t doubt he was capable of anything. The way he made love to her was mind-blowingly pleasurable, the way she’d always dreamed it could be.

  She didn’t care about anything else, not when she was so out of her mind with need. None of it mattered except the brutal plunge of Kell between her legs, stretching her, making her whimper with pleasure as a white light shot across her field of vision and another orgasm rolled through her.

  When she opened her eyes again, Kell was staring at her, so intently she knew she was lost, gone forever, no matter how badly he scared her.

  Right now she wanted to be scared by him, every second of every day.

  Teddie wasn’t sure how much later it was when she fully woke from Kell’s touches. She’d slept after he’d taken her, sated and exhausted, and now she was on her stomach, her head buried in a pillow and Kell was on top of her.

  He put his forehead on her back, let it rest there. His hand was between her thighs, spreading them, caressing her, and she felt his arousal brush against her.

  “Don’t want to stop,” he murmured.

  “Then don’t.”

  He pulled her to all fours and entered her from behind. Her breath quickened as her body readjusted to his girth. He left lingering kisses across her shoulders, and a nip or two, no doubt leaving marks.

  She wanted him to leave marks, wanted them to linger on her skin with the same tingling sensations that were shooting through her now. She was spread and helpless against his thrusts and she cried out—his name, soft moans, louder ones, urging him on—and he remained above her, riding her until their skin was slick with sweat and they were both breathing hard.

  Sex with Kell this time was like a fight, a battle they were both winning. And when they came, almost simultaneously, the victory coursed through her, hot and fast and sweet, left her trying to catch her breath long after they’d both semi-collapsed on the bed.

  She turned her head to look at him, as he was still half lying with his chest on her back. “You were supposed to rest. Relax.”

  “That was relaxing,” Kell murmured, his hearing obviously restored. “Nice driving, by the way.”

  “Jealous?”

  “Impressed.” He turned and winced. “Christ, don’t let Reid give me any more of those painkillers.”

  “They forced you to make love to me?” she asked, and he just smiled.

  “Where are we?”

  “Texas.”


  “And you’re not out of danger. But you will be,” he promised her. “You have to trust me.”

  She was more than halfway there. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  He got even more serious then. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  “The bombing?”

  “The bombing … the things in the alley … at the drug house. All of it.”

  She held his gaze steadily. “I’m not. You saved me.”

  “What changed?”

  “I don’t know. Me, I guess.” She shifted, suddenly feeling quite vulnerable, which made her insecure. “I know what side you’re on right now. But what’s to stop you from changing your mind?”

  “Nothing, except my word. It’s always been the one thing I’ve had, so I don’t fuck with it.”

  “You almost died.”

  He nodded.

  “I almost … in the alley. Before that too … I almost died, Kell. And it’s not the first time in my life that I escaped death. How many chances do I get?”

  “What scares you the most?”

  “That maybe a part of me wanted to die. It would be much easier.”

  “That’s a coward’s way out. And you’re anything but.”

  “I’m tired, Kell. For a long time, I didn’t know where to turn or who to count on.”

  “You know now. And you refuse to give in. That stubbornness is what’s gotten you this far. Now it could be the thing that does you in.”

  “I didn’t mean to lie about what happened with Samuel in the restaurant or why I came to see him. I knew he was a bad man.”

  He pulled her close, stroked her hair, and she’d never felt so safe in her entire life.

  “If anything had happened to you back there, Kell … I was so scared. And I’m tired of being scared.”

  “So don’t be,” he said simply.

  When Kell woke again, it was light out and he was under the covers, with Reid sitting on a chair next to the bed.

  “Teddie’s showering. She didn’t want you to be alone. She hasn’t left your side,” Reid told him. “Guess she has a thing for moody bastards.”

  Kell would’ve hit him but that would’ve taken effort, and right now he still felt weak as shit. “We’re definitely being set up,” he muttered instead and Reid nodded in agreement.