Page 128 of Taken In Trade
My life has gotten weird lately.
Vanessa’s eyes pop open, and she smiles at me around Magnum’s cock. I quickly pull my hand away as she lets it fall from her lips.
It ends up partially resting on Hawk’s arm, and I chuckle like a child, shaking my head.
Pack life is going to be really fucking weird.
“I’m so glad you’re home,” she whispers, nodding to the other side of the bed. “You have to be exhausted. Come get some rest.”
I’d probably sleep much more soundly if it was just me and her, but I crawl over Hawk’s legs and stretch out at his side.
I’m totally, completely, one-hundred-percent whipped by my wife, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Although, I’ll kill anyone who tries to accuse me of such.
Vanessa is still running a bit of a fever the next morning, but she’s coherent and hungry.
The four of us head down for breakfast, and once we all have our plates, we settle around the table.
They all look to me, which signals they want an update.
Vanessa isn’t eating, but the food is delicious, and hopefully a little coaxing will spark her desire to actually partake in the breakfast she was so desperate for before leaving the nest.
I normally have a bit of a flair for the dramatic, since I enjoy telling a good story. With Vanessa’s anxiety spilling into the bond, I cut straight to the point.
“Everything went smoothly,” I assure them, cutting a bite of my eggs to offer to my wife.
She takes the offered bite and grabs her Dr Pepper from the table, taking a long swig.
How she can drink soda so early in the morning is beyond me, but far be it from me to bring it up if it makes her happy.
“Could we get more details than that?” she asks, her eyebrows rising.
I nod, shoving my chair back. “If you sit with me while I tell you. I find that I would like to feed you by hand as I recall the information.”
Vanessa rolls her pretty hazel eyes, but she comes to sit on my lap without any verbal complaints.
Hawk just shakes his head, and based on the spillover from the bond, he’s jealous he won’t be the one feeding her breakfast.
Perhaps we’ll have to work out a schedule so no arguments pop up in the future.
Picking up a piece of bacon, I offer it to Vanessa and get on with recounting what happened after they left.
“The space outside the warehouse has been sanitized, and the bodies were taken to the incinerator,” I say. “All camera feedsduring the exchange have been wiped. Although, I am now in possession of a copy of what unfolded.”
“Why would you want that?” Vanessa asks. “Wouldn’t it be better if it was gone for good?”
“Perhaps,” I admit. “But if anyone is going to have a copy, I’d like it to be me.”
“Yeah, about that whole thing,” Magnum says. “Can we have a pack huddle? Next time some shit like that is about to go down, how about youwarnus.”
“I gave you more of a warning than I did for either of them.” I offer Vanessa a bite of pancakes, and I tilt my head to study her tongue as it flicks over the bottom of the fork. “Hawk knows how I operate, and I didn’t want to stress out my wife needlessly. There was no guarantee that Grigoryan would make his move last night, but I’m always prepared for the worst. I rarely step out of the mansion without two security teams. The one that sticks close, which everyone can see, and a second, more discreet team.”
“You have snipers following you everywhere you go?” Magnum asks with his mouth hanging open.
“Hardly.” I chuckle. “I have two members of my personal team that were selected solely for their long-range abilities, but they’re not always part of the backup team. They were watching the warehouse last night. I also thought it prudent to bring in additional support in the form of two contract workers. They were quite effective, even if we probably could have gotten by with just the two from my personal team.” I shrug. “It was worth the exorbitant cost to no longer have to worry about what Grigoryan has up his sleeve.”
“Spoiler alert,” Vanessa says, looking at me over her shoulder. “I hope he has nothing up his sleeve because he’s chained to the wall, nude.”
“No one wants to have to see that,” Hawk chimes in, making Magnum and Vanessa laugh.
