Live Wire (Ramsey Security #2)

"I want my woman protected."

Saskia sighs. "Way too much time with Rafael."

"He thinks you talk about your period when you're with other women."

"Of course he does. What do you think we talk about?"

"Dick sizes."

"You're getting warmer," she teases, laughing loudly.

Smiling, I still worry she'll change her mind. I even wonder if she's playing me so she can get her way. Her laughter is too genuine though, and my worries fade.

"You've protected me," I whisper, brushing my lips against her cheek. "Let me protect you now."

Saskia's expression shifts almost immediately, leaving bright fear in her eyes.

"I don't want to hold my tools anymore," she whimpers, looking at her hands. "I don't want to break people, but I need to protect you more."

"You can protect me by staying with me. My sexy butt kicking bodyguard."

Still rattled, Saskia grips my shirt. "I don't know if I can stop."

"Of course you can. You're strong and smart. You can do whatever in the hell you want."

Saskia's furrowed brow eases, and she smiles slightly. "I want to learn to cook, and Ruth is going to help me. Nell also said she'll teach me to knit. I want to learn things that have nothing to do with my old life. I want to learn to play with the dogs without thinking of them as weapons to use against intruders. You can help me with that part."

"I'll help you with anything you need," I murmur, kissing her neck.

Body going limp and willing, Saskia moans as my lips suck at her flesh. Our passion gives her permission to submit. She's no longer alone in a cold world. Here with me, she's safe and loved. Discarding her past, she can reach for a possible future offering anything she desires. All she needs to do is hold on to me while dreaming of more.





30


Saskia

No More Little Maven Encores

Leaving behind Little Maven sounds easy, but I still worry about the target on Brad's back. Nighttime is the worst, but he tries to relax me. We eat popcorn while watching Ghost Hunters. Even with all the laughing I do, my thoughts keep focusing on Marx. He's been in this house and sat on this couch. The Sloane family rebuilt their lives, only for Marx to show up wearing a disarming smile and working a devious plan. I want Marx dead, but I can't give up being the new Saskia rather than the butcher created by an evil mother.

"You shouldn't laugh at their fear," Brad says as I giggle hysterically at the cowardly ghost hunters squealing over every noise.

When I don't stop laughing, he finally gives in and laughs too. "I'd be scared shitless if I was in a haunted house."

Brad's confession only makes me laugh harder until I can barely breathe. Ruth appears at the hallway and looks at us.

"Make her stop mocking me, Mom," Brad whines dramatically.

Ruth grins. "She's right though. Those shows are stupid."

I rest my head against Brad's chest. "I love them. In fact, I've never laughed harder in my life."

Brad's face loses his feigned outraged expression when he smiles at me. "I love when you laugh."

I hold his gaze and whisper, "I love everything about you."

"Wait until I reveal all my annoying habits."

Frowning, I say, "Oh, I thought you already had."

Brad narrows his blue eyes and gives me a dark, dirty look. My subsiding giggles start up again. He shakes his head at how I tease him. When we return to watching the show, I try not to laugh at the ghost hunters and mostly succeed.

As happy as I am with Brad and his family, I know the moment is coming when I can't hide any longer. Minka and Rafael arrive two days after the girls' night out with information about Fred Lorn and Marx. Brad insists on sitting in with me while they go over the info.

"Lorn died without much money left," Rafael says. "He suffered a stroke a few years after you returned to Texas. Most his estate went to pay for his treatment. We couldn't really tie him to Stein or Loucks. We can say it's very unlikely his estate had anything to do with the guy in New York. What's left of it is tied up in the courts between warring nephews. We checked them out, and neither is likely connected to the cult. "

"So Fred might be innocent?" Brad asks.

"Likely not. Lorn was the guy behind the show from the beginning. He created the concept and did the writing and producing. He sat on his pet project for decades until he located you."

"That still doesn't prove anything."

"No, but Lorn had a lot of noise complaint to his house back in the day. Neighbors complained about loud music and weird people hanging around. Some of those people were described in police reports as transients. So let's assume he was our guy for the original abduction. He's been out of the picture for a long time."