“What? Why?”

“Your bags, everything, is in here. From now on, you’re staying in my room. We’ll unpack it all tomorrow. Now, come on.”

He didn’t let go of her hand, even as they walked into his room. After undressing her, he pulled back the covers and tucked her in. His hard-on was visible through his thick sweat pants, yet he made no move to touch her in an intimate way.

“Aren’t you getting in to bed?”

“In a little while. I need to make some calls tonight.” Without explaining, she understood what he meant. She might not like it but now that she knew he was on her side she could rest easier. “Okay.”

* * * * *

After he was sure Emma was asleep, Caleb retreated to his office and called Nick back.

“Hey man, I’m glad you called. I’ve already got some information,” Nick said before he’d gotten a hello out.

He inwardly sighed and ignored every primal instinct inside him that told him to pack her up and disappear. “Yeah, well so do I.” He relayed everything she’d told him, leaving out a few details.

Nick let out a low whistle. “So that’s why she disappeared.”

“Well, that’s one of the reasons.” He didn’t see the need to get his friend more involved than necessary.

“All right, what do you want to do?”

“I need to set up a meeting with someone you trust. You personally. Make it clear that she is going to be under my protection. I don’t care about protocol or jurisdictional bullshit. She’ll meet with them, make a statement and she’s willing to testify. Until the trial, she’s with me. If they try to put her in WitSec, we’ll disappear. Get it?”

“Perfectly clear buddy. Stay by your phone. I think I know who can help you.” True to his word, Nick called back less than half an hour later.

“Tell me you have good news.”

“Well…”

“Well what? If they don’t play by my rules, we’re gone.” Emma’s safety wasn’t up for debate.

“They’re not happy about it but for now, they’ve agreed to meet and take her statement. If what she has to say is worth it, then she can stay with you but only on the condition that a couple of agents are there too. Hell, anything is better than a crappy safe house.”

He strummed his fingers on his desk. “Fine. Who’s in charge of this task force?”

“His name is John Sierra. Maybe you’ve heard of him.”

“I’ve seen him on the news a couple times. You trust him?”

“Definitely. I wouldn’t set you up with him if I didn’t. He wants to meet tomorrow afternoon.”

Caleb clenched the phone against his ear. It was soon but maybe that was better than dragging it out. “Okay.”

After writing down all the details, he poured a double whiskey and downed it without tasting it. He understood Emma’s need to testify but part of him wanted to kidnap her and just leave. He re-set the alarm, took the pistol from his office and went to his room.

Before climbing into bed, he checked both guns and slipped the extra one into the drawer on his side of the bed. Keeping two guns might seem a little excessive but he didn’t give a shit.

Her sweet fragrance enveloped him the moment he lifted the comforter and slipped in next to her. Not wanting to wake her, he stretched himself along the length of her silky body and wrapped his arm around her waist. In her sleep, she snuggled tighter against him and made seductive purring sounds.

Great. Now he’d never get to sleep. A few hours later, when she’d rubbed her ass against his dick for what felt like the billionth time, his patience ended. Without making too many movements, he took a condom from the nightstand and put it on before touching her. Once they got started he didn’t want to break momentum. He traced a finger down her side and hips as he nipped her earlobe.

She began to stir so he feathered kisses along her delicate neck and shoulders.

“Mmm, what are you doing?” Emma murmured.

“What does it feel like?”

She started to turn over but he held her firmly under his grip. Still kissing her neck, he reached his hand around and cupped her breast. With his thumb, he teased her nipple until it peaked under his caresses.

A sigh of pleasure escaped and she moaned something unintelligible. Good. She was finally coming out of her sleep.

His hand strayed down until he gripped her tight ass. From behind, he slipped a finger into her pussy. She was already wet. He slipped another one in and moved his fingers in and out, careful to drag them along the front wall of her vagina. Each time he increased pressure, she let out a moan. And each time they got louder.

“Caleb,” she panted.

“Tell me what you want honey,” he murmured against her ear.

“I want you to stop teasing me.”

He chuckled and rolled her on her back. “I wanted to give you some sort of foreplay before I started fucking you senseless.”

“Inside me. Now.”

He gripped her hips and thrust hard. Except for the time in the shower, they hadn’t made it past the missionary position. Maybe they would after he’d had her a thousand more times. Maybe.

She arched her back and gripped his shoulders. Her legs wrapped around him and their bodies meshed in a fierce rhythmic motion. He ran his calloused hands over her silky breasts, stroking her nipples with his thumbs. When she moaned in satisfaction, he stilled his movements between her legs and captured one of her breasts with his mouth.

He teased and pulled the already hardened nubs.

Her body arched underneath his and she grabbed his hips in a death grip with her legs. “Don’t stop.”

Stop? Not if someone held a gun to his head. He leaned down and devoured her mouth. Hungrily, her lips and teeth clashed with his. He was close to coming but she had to find her release first. With both hands, he slightly lifted her hips and cupped her ass.

“Do you trust me, Emma?” he whispered in her ear.

She nodded and moaned something that sounded like a yes. He spread her cheeks and pressed one finger into her tight opening. Not deep but just enough for her to tense.

Her back arched off the bed and she stilled. Wide-eyed and wordless, she stared at him.

Her dark hair pillowed all around her and in the soft light, she looked like an angel. A nervous angel.

“Trust me,” he whispered again.

He felt her muscles relax underneath his grip and she eased back onto the bed.

“Okay.”

He kept his finger exactly where it was, immobile and began thrusting in smooth, even strokes with his cock. Her breathing came in shallow pants and she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing his mouth down on one of her breasts. As he licked and raked his teeth over her sensitive flesh, tremors overtook her entire body, finally pushing her over the edge. Her muscles started contracting around his cock and his finger and when she started chanting his name, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Fragrant waves of a scent that was pure Emma rolled off her in waves, pulling him deeper under her spell. That smell combined with sweat and sex flooded his senses. His thrusting became more insistent, urgent and uncontrollable. Only around her did he lose control. With a final thrust, he found his release.

He fell onto his back, panting and sated for the moment but could already feel his cock beginning to swell again. With the little energy he had left, he took off the condom and threw it into the wastebasket next to the nightstand.

“I can definitely get used to this.” Emma rolled over and laid her head onto his chest.

Too tired to answer, all he could do was nod and grunt. The shrill sound of the phone caused them both to sit up.

“What the hell?” It was close to three thirty in the morning.

Emma’s face tensed up, revealing her inner thoughts. He was thinking the same thing. A call this late wasn’t a good thing.

The caller id displayed Nick’s name. “Hello?”

“Sorry to call so late but there have been some developments. I put in a call to John Sierra to set everything up. A few hours later, he was gunned down outside his office.

He’s in intensive care but it looks like he’s going to make it.”

“Okay, what does this mean for Emma?”

“Someone hacked the system and so far a big chunk of computer files have been compromised. There might be a mole but it’s hard to tell right now if this was internal.

It could have nothing to do with Emma but with everything going on right now, I had to warn you.”

“Thanks, I’ll alert my men and their families.”

“There is one more thing,” Nick said.

The cautionary note in his voice twisted a knife in Caleb’s gut. “Mendez is missing.

It could mean nothing but I doubt you want to leave anything to chance.” That was an understatement. “What do you mean, missing?”

“After everything that happened with Sierra, there was a cluster-fuck of miscommunication and somehow he evaded the guys watching him.” He resisted the urge to throw his phone against the wall. “How long ago was this?”

“About three to four hours, give or take. I just found out or I would have called sooner.”

As soon as they disconnected, Emma started drilling him. “Was that your contact?

What did he want?”

“Honey, give me a couple of minutes.” He ignored the hurt look in her eyes. He needed to warn everyone on his land. If the house or land came under attack, he wanted his men ready to fight. Some of them were ex-military and the ones that weren’t knew how to fire a gun.

He dialed Robert first and they split the list between them on who to call. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Emma retreat to the bathroom. Seconds later, he heard the sound of running water. By the time he finished up with his last call, she sat on the bed, fully clothed, with her arms wrapped around her knees.

“I guess I don’t need to explain too much, huh?” She shook her head. “Does he know where I am?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Just to be safe, we’re leaving for a couple days until this mess is settled. If he has even a clue as to your location, I don’t want him within one hundred miles.”