Maya Banks - No Place to Run

She wanted to deck him for being a condescending jerk, but she could see he truly wasn’t attempting to talk down to her. He was in total command mode, and he was talking to her like he’d talk to one of his men. No nonsense and he expected compliance. She was sorely tempted to snap him a salute and rattle off a snarky “yes sir!”

“Now come here,” he said in a low voice.

The deep timbre sent a shiver down her skin. He sounded gruff and a little unsure, but there was also a compelling plea for her to come to him.

She went and he caught her in his arms, pulling her against his chest. Warm. He was so warm that his heat soaked into her pores and invaded her stiff muscles.

He felt so good, so absolutely right, that she could do nothing more than stand in the circle of his arms and bury her face in his neck.

“I’ll protect you, Sophie. We have a lot to work out, and we’ll get there. But first I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure no one ever touches you or our child. If you believe nothing else, believe this.”

“I do believe you,” she whispered. “It’s why I came.”

“I just wish you’d come sooner,” he said in a quiet voice.

“I’m here now.”

He nodded. “And you’re staying.”

He turned her toward the couch and urged her down once more. After making sure she was propped in a comfortable position, he carefully arranged the blankets around her.

“You need to rest and I’ve got to plan our way out of here. Donovan is doing some checking on our assassin. So if you’ll sit tight and let us do our thing, we’ll have you out of here as soon as possible.”

She tried to cover the yawn that threatened to crack her jaw, but gave up and surrendered halfway through.

He leaned in, kissed her forehead and then smoothed his hand down her face.

“Rest, Sophie, and trust me to protect you and our baby.”

She stared back up at him. “I do, Sam. I do.”

Nodding his satisfaction, he turned on his heel and headed out of the living room to find his brothers, and she was left alone, huddled under the blankets on the couch to ponder the mess she’d gotten the entire Kelly family in.

“WHAT did you find out?” Sam demanded as soon as he returned to Donovan and Garrett.

Donovan looked up as Sam approached. “I ran the guy’s photo and prints through the CIA database.”

“And?”

“Interesting. He’s one of Mouton’s all right, but he was assigned to his brother’s security detail.”

“What’s so interesting about that?” Garrett asked.

“Well, the info I gathered suggested that Tomas is a token part of Alex’s network. He has no say, no power, and Alex ignores him as long as Tomas plays by the rules. Which are basically that he keeps his mouth shut and does whatever Alex tells him.

“Now, yeah this guy would have been chosen and hired and trained for that matter by Alex or his trusted head of security, but he wouldn’t have had any real power or responsibility other than to stick close to Tomas, and if I know Alex, the assassin probably reported to Alex, not Tomas.”

Sam frowned. “So why send this guy after Sophie? If her father’s so pissed, or he wants revenge or he wants to send a message, why send this joker? He wasn’t completely inept, but he wasn’t hard to take down. Why not send one of his best?”

“Why send anyone at all?” Garrett demanded. “I feel like we’re missing something here. Yeah, so Sophie’s his daughter and she bailed. Mouton doesn’t strike me as the sentimental type. Why would he give a shit about a woman? The guy’s a first-class asshole. He’s trafficked in women and children. I doubt he understands the first thing about familial sentiment.”

“She sold him out,” Sam said in a low voice.

He still wasn’t sure what to make of Sophie’s declaration. His gut told him she was telling the truth. Sometimes it paid to go with your gut. Other times it got you killed. Damn if he knew which was the case this time.

“Sold him out?” Donovan gave Sam a searching look that was threaded with disbelief. “Back up a second. What haven’t you told us?”

Garrett leaned forward, his ever-present scowl deepening.

“She was our informant,” Sam said to Garrett. “The one who tipped us off about when the arms shipment was going down.”

Donavan and Garrett exchanged what-the-fuck looks. The words to defend her rushed to Sam’s mouth, but he swallowed them back. He couldn’t defend her. Not yet.

“She did all that because you were fucking her?” Garrett asked incredulously.

Sam turned and slammed into Garrett’s chest, twisting Garrett’s shirt in his hands.

“I’ve had enough of your mouth,” Sam snarled. “You will have some goddamn respect when talking about the mother of my child, you got me?”

Garrett’s eyes narrowed, then widened when Sam didn’t back down. He put his hands up. “Okay, okay, my bad.”

When Sam released his shirt, and Garrett took a step back, swearing the entire way.

“Will you at least try to look at this objectively?” Garrett asked. “What if it were me or Van? One of us hooks up with a chick while we’re on a mission. He gets distracted. Chick shows up months later, after we failed to take down the target, and she’s making all sorts of wild claims, not the least of which is she’s pregnant with Van’s child or my child. Then she says she sold out her flesh and blood for a guy she was with a matter of a few days. Tell me, Sam, would you be saying okay, yeah, whatever?”

Donovan remained quiet, but Garrett’s thoughts were reflected in his eyes.

Sam sighed. “When did I ever give you two the impression that I’m some emotional dumbass who thinks with his dick? I get that you’re suspicious. I have my own set of doubts, but so far what she’s saying is checking out. And whatever you think, you’ll show some respect for both me and her. If you can’t live with that, then I suggest you get the fuck out, and I’ll go this alone.”

“Oh shut the fuck up,” Garrett muttered. “You know good and goddamn well Van and I are behind you. Jesus this is one giant clusterfuck.”

“You can’t solve this for me,” Sam said as he stared Garrett down. “I know it goes against every grain that you can’t just step in with a solution. This isn’t just a mission or some job, and you and I both know it. Everything has changed for me, and I’m the only person who can sort it out.”

Donovan chuckled, and Sam and Garrett both glared at him.

“Garrett looks like a whipped puppy because the control freak in him can’t control the situation. And Sam looks like he’s swallowed a rock.”

Sam held up his middle finger at the exact same time Garrett did, which only made Donovan laugh harder.

He shook his head and wiped his palm down his jaw. “If we can get back to the facts at hand. The assassin worked alone. Garrett and I have both been out. There’s no one else. Not yet. We’ve probably bought a few days, until Mouton figures out his guy is dead and sends someone else. He hasn’t impressed me with his intelligence so far, so he may or may not send enough men to get the job done. But then before he was only after a lone woman. Now he has us to contend with.”

“Yeah. All of us,” Garrett growled. “No one fucks with the Kellys.”

Sam grinned and then let the smile fade. “We need to get to Mom and Dad’s to make sure they’re okay, have Steele and Rio meet us there and figure out our next move. I don’t give a shit what the CIA’s doing. We’re going to take that bastard out this time.”

Donovan nodded his agreement. “Go get Sophie. Garrett and I will have the truck ready.”

SOPHIE stared out the window of the SUV as it rolled into the driveway of a quaint wood house that was at least a hundred years old. It was one of those houses you saw in television shows touting suburbia. The perfect porch, the perfect landscaping. An upstairs that probably had at least six bedrooms and a backyard that stretched over several acres.

It looked homey and welcoming like it had a soul and wasn’t just a cold dwelling constructed to keep others out. No, this house invited people inside to its warmth. Families gathered here.

It was everything she’d ever wanted in her entire life, and it hurt her that she was going to have to walk into this place with Sam and pretend it wasn’t.

The tires crunched over the gravel, and Garrett pulled the truck to a halt behind a county sheriff’s police car. Sophie jerked her head around to stare at Sam accusingly.

“Sean is here for the protection of my family,” Sam said shortly. “I didn’t go behind your back and report you to the cops.”

She relaxed a little, but the knot in her throat grew larger as she stared at the house.

This was his parents’ house, and she had no concept of how to act around a normal family. But she carried their grandchild, and if nothing else, that gained her something. Didn’t it?

Donovan opened the door for her, and automatically her chin went up. Sam walked around and reached in to help her out. She grabbed for the waist of the sweatpants to keep them up as Sam tucked her into his side. At least he wasn’t trying to put a world of distance between them. She couldn’t have faced his entire family by herself.

Garrett and Donovan hurried forward and had the door open by the time she and Sam got there. As soon as she stepped inside, she was greeted by a rush of warm air and the smell—it wasn’t even one identifiable scent. It was a mixture of home-baked food, flowers, cleaner and an older musty smell that came from years of wear.

It was the best smell she’d ever encountered.

She inhaled deeply, wanting to savor every bit.

“Sam, Garrett, Donovan? Is that you?”

The feminine voice came closer, and in another moment a small woman rounded the corner as if on wheels. She collided with Garrett, bounced off and then promptly pounced on the much larger man.

“Garrett!”

She pulled him into her arms, and Sophie watched in fascination as Garrett transformed in front of her eyes. He went from surly, scowling ape to a gentle mama’s boy. It was mind-boggling.

He scooped her up in his arms, though she seemed to be doing most of the hugging.

“We’re fine, Ma. Quit squeezing me so hard or I won’t be able to breathe.”

She kissed both cheeks, patted one and then turned her attention to Donovan, who was watching with an amused smile.

“Gee, Mom, you’d think you never saw us.”

She scowled at him, and Sophie could see where Garrett got it. Their mom could be quite ferocious when provoked.

She hugged Donovan fiercely, patting and squeezing in random patterns.

“I’ve been so worried. Sean showed up mumbling about safety and trouble and then wouldn’t let your father or me out of the house. I was tempted to turn him over my knee.”

Sam pushed forward shaking his head. “Sean did exactly what he was supposed to do, Ma. Don’t be giving him any trouble.”

Mrs. Kelly turned to Sam and her face softened. At the same time she caught sight of Sophie standing to Sam’s side and her expression froze.

She looked at Donovan and then quickly back at Sam and then focused on Sophie again.

“What in the world?”

She started toward Sophie, and it was all Sophie could do not to turn around and run.

Mrs. Kelly’s hands came up to brace Sophie’s arms, but Sam was there to push one away from her injury.

“Careful, Ma. She’s been hurt.”

Sam’s voice was soft and husky, almost tender. Sophie’s knees began to shake because she couldn’t take this. It was too much. She was scared out of her mind, and the last thing she wanted was rejection.

“Oh my word,” Mrs. Kelly breathed out.

And before Sophie could expend any more time being terrified, the woman enfolded her in her embrace as carefully as she would a child. And just as suddenly she pulled away and aimed a ferocious glare up at Sam.

“Sam Kelly, what is the meaning of this? This poor girl looks like she’s been in the lake.”

She reached up and touched Sophie’s bedraggled hair and frowned. Then she glanced downward.

“She doesn’t even have shoes!”

Sam held up his hands, but his mom ignored him.

Her gaze fastened on Sophie’s belly, and Sophie went completely still. She stood there in dread, chin up, her knees so locked it was a wonder she hadn’t passed out yet.

“She’s pregnant! Oh dear Lord. Sam what were you thinking?”

Sam’s eyebrows went up, and he backed away as if unsure of what his mom was referencing.