Page 51 of No Turning Back
“I know. Nice way to give me the slip at the bus station. Glad to see you’re safe. Poseidon here would have destroyed the world if something happened to you.” He chuckles as Tucker moves up behind me.
I look over to see that he laid Mari down in her playpen.
“We need to get them out of here and somewhere clean and safe.”
“Don’t want to take them to the clubhouse?”
“No, but I’ll get Cronus to set something up.”
“I’ll call him for you.”
“Could you?”
“I’ll message him now.” He moves away a bit, and I stay in Tucker’s arms.
Tucker finally turns me to face him. He leans down so that his lips are next to my ear. “I took you bare, you could be pregnant with my child, and you ran from me.” His soft words against the shell of my ear make my body break out in goose pimples.
I pull away and look up at him. I look him in the eye so he can see everything.
“I would have contacted you. I wouldn’t keep your child away from you. I just couldn’t risk losing you. I love you so much, Tucker.”
His hands go to my cheeks and hold me gently.
“Sydney, you were willing to take yourself and Mari, who calls me Daddy, away from me. She’s my child too. I want to adopt her. Fuck, I want to make you mine always.”
Tears clog my throat. He’s right, I was taking her away from him.
“I’m sorry.”
“You remember I was a SEAL, baby, right?” I nod. “I’m going to protect you. Let me do my job. What I was trained to do.”
I nod again as he leans forward. He kisses my forehead and then pulls away. I want his lips on me, but I know if he starts kissing me, I won’t stop.
“Besides, I need to tell you a secret too.” He pauses, and I wait for him, not sure what he’s going to confess. “I’m a part of a private unit that is contracted by the government. We investigate people who think they are above the law. This Miles Kant is that kind of man. If I’d known sooner, we could have taken care of this and protected you more.”
“What? How?”
“Most of the men with Drago Defiance are a part of it. Do you remember meeting Cronus?”
I just nod because I’m in shock over this. I never would have guessed he was still in the military.
“I thought you got out of the military?”
“I am. This is a private group. Cronus is our leader.”
“Is he going to be mad at me?” I worry that he will think I’m a threat to their organization.
“No. Never. He’s worried about you. Besides, since he let his own girl run, he’s eating crow with us guys.” Tucker chuckles, and I remember the imposing dark-haired man.
“Okay, so what is it that you have that Kant wants?” Carter asks as he turns back toward us.
“I have photos and video clips of him and Colton killing a rhino with Brigade men.”
“How?” Tucker asks.
“There was a night vision game camera set up in the area they killed it in. They didn’t know until later. Someone must have been watching us approach the camera. I retrieved the footage before they attacked us.”
I pull from Tucker’s embrace, but he stays close. The fear of almost losing me is still bothering him because he won’t let me move far from him. I pull the SD card from my purse and show them.
