Chapter 34

RPOV

I felt content to cradle Steph in my arms as she slept. There was only Ash and Zeph in here now, Zeph had landed the helicopter on the outskirts of Trenton and Tank had called Rangeman for a pickup. Hector had remembered Ash mentioning the research lab where Gannon supposedly worked out of, so hacking into the cameras he'd been able to follow the cavalcade of cars that we were in. The fact that those five men had followed us down to Maryland was a true testament to the ties we had for each other, I mean how many men other than Zeph could get his hands on a helicopter in good enough condition to fly down to Maryland and then bring us here?

I was so amazed at how Steph had coped, I knew she could be fearless when she wanted to be, when she felt she had to be. Hell, the whole incident with Scrogg opened my eyes to that, how she was willing to help me get Julie back even though she could have been hurt. Though yesterday, when she'd come down into the conference room, I had been annoyed with her, I suppose annoyed is the wrong word, I was scared for her. It never occurred to me that Gannon had planned on bringing her as well. I was so worried at her coming with us, but she seemed to have an agenda.

That she talked information from Gannon and managed to free herself and us as well, well that spoke volumes of her tenacity. She worked with Les to escape from the building, though I'd be having words at his choice for distracting that soldier. Any other woman I'd ever come across would have been a blubbering wreck. She accepted me for who I was, even possibly the dark side of what I did. She calmed my beast, and the sexual violence I often craved for after a mission. We complimented each other in so many ways and even where we had differences it was a part of how we worked so well together. All the barriers I had so carefully constructed to keep her at arm's length were crumbling down. All that thinking that I had been putting off until later rushed to the forefront of my mind. The signs that I had been so blinkered about thinking through melded together and suddenly I knew exactly what the answer was. I was in love with the woman, head over heels. That self-enlightening lifted my soul, she was the light that overshadowed the darkness in me. Never again would I push her away from me, no more excuses. I just needed for her to know exactly how I felt and hopefully where we were going would give me the time and atmosphere to do just that. My biggest worry was that she may not feel the same way about me.

I hoped she liked where we were going, the place was personal to me, somewhere I could go to unwind, think things through. Yeah, I'd have Zeph and Ash there with us but they had turned out to be true friends, not just to me but to Steph as well. As the sun started to light up the sky, I recognized that we weren't far from our destination. I gently started to caress Steph's cheeks, I was glad she had slept and rested up because we still had this mess to sort out and the sooner that was done the better. Maybe while we were away, I could ask Ella for a favor.

"Babe, we're almost there"

I watched as her eyelids started to flutter and then took in the sight of her eyes, sleepy and deep blue as she focused on my face. Her smile lit up my heart, so I leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

"Where are we"

"Somewhere in Maine"

"We're not camping are we?"

"No"

"This is where you wanted to send me once isn't it?"

"Yes, but I think you'll like it"

I helped her turn and take a seat next to me, watching her face as she looked through the window down at the view below. To be fair it was only just inside the area of Maine, but it was an isolated place that I'd come across through an old CO when I was in the Rangers. He'd retired and his wife was crippled with arthritis, so he didn't feel he had need for it anymore. He'd said it needed someone young to carry on the tradition of it being a place to get away from things, so I'd bought it. It was in excellent condition, needing very little work to be done on it, but over the years I'd made it my own.

The cabin was private, having a fair chunk of land with it so landing the helicopter on the flat area to the side of the cabin wasn't a problem.

"It's beautiful here, all the trees and did I see a lake?"

"Yeah, it's at the back of the cabin, too cold for swimming but great for fishing"

"Hell, I haven't been fishing since I was a kid"

"Who took you?"

"My Dad, but then my Mum stopped me from going, in fact she stopped me doing a lot of things because she didn't think they were becoming of a lady"

I saw her look around the helicopter cabin a frown appearing on her face.

"Did I sleep through the others leaving?"

"Yes, no one wanted to wake you, and we took on supplies that we'll need"

"Well I hope they're Ella's ready meals or someone knows how to cook then"

"We'll work it out"

As the helicopter blades slowed down and stopped, I slid open the door and helped Steph down and then turned back to help Ash. He was already sitting at the edge and easily slid to the floor, though he did grab hold of Steph's outstretched hand to steady himself. It would take a couple of trips to carry the supplies in so Zeph and I would do that once the cabin was open and aired and we'd sorted out where the men were sleeping. The door we went through, whilst it was the main entrance, I rarely used once here. It opened into a large area that had stairs running up to the bedrooms and down to a large storage area under the house. From the entrance we went through into a large open plan area that had a kitchen and eating area and then as the house was built on a slope there were steps down into the lounge area that covered the width of the house. Another door from here went out into a large sunroom that looked out over the lake and also onto a decked area with a path leading down to a small pier.

I opened the windows and removed dustsheets, switched on the main power, though there were batteries that maintained some of the appliances, I tended to switch everything off. Let's face it if someone broke in here, I would never get here in time to do anything about it. There was a vaulted room downstairs where I kept anything valuable. Zeph and I then started to bring the boxes in while Steph and Ash unpacked leaving the bags with clothes for each of us till last.

"Zeph, you and Ash are in the rooms at the front of the house, both have their own bathrooms"

I looked at Steph as I picked up our bags and led her to a door that was almost impossible to see.

"We're up here"

The stairs went up from the lounge and came into a bedroom that took up the same area as the lounge, it was bright and large with its own bathroom and a large closet. There was a large bed with shelves at the side, a small couch by the window with fabrics in pale grey and cushions in a deep blue. I watched her as she looked around, as she touched the covers on the bed and walked over to the large window seeing a smile on her face and being relieved that she seemed to like it.

"I love it, it's beautiful here and so peaceful"

I walked up behind her pulling her back to my chest, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"I'm glad you like it, I enjoy coming up here, but with you with me I think I'll enjoy it even more"

I turned her to me and brought my lips down on hers, I wanted to show her how much she meant to me, so I was gentle as I nibbled at her lips welcoming the feel as we deepened the kiss. I wanted her, needed her, to feel her against me. Slowly my hands lifted the hem of her T-shirt up and over her shoulders and head, giving me access to those beautiful pert breasts. As my mouth enjoyed the feel of her smooth skin, I undid the clasp of her bra and continued my journey to savor the feel of her hard nipples. I felt her hands pushing up my T-shirt, and I stepped away long enough to throw it to the floor then stopped as she looked at my chest frowning.

"You're hurt"

"Not enough to stop this"

I sank to my knees slowly inching down her trousers and panties my mouth following the same journey as my hands from the top of her thigh to the tips of her toes and back again. Then I pushed her back against wall, lifting one of her legs over my shoulder, spreading her legs for me to feast on her sweetness. With my tongue and fingers, I brought her to the edge of her climax feeling her hands running through my hair and hearing the sounds from deep within her. I stopped and watched her face, smiling at the frown that appeared then as I stood up my cargos disappeared and with my hands on her hips, I lifted her onto the bed and quickly entered her feeling the climax roll through her. I was just managing to keep control of myself before I pulled her body toward me to hear the sweet moans and feel all of her skin against mine. I plundered her mouth with my tongue, her breast with my hand as I held her to me, increasing the speed of my moves, she was so wet and so tight as she wrapped her legs around my hips and arched her back pushing against the bed with her shoulders. That change of angle scorched my skin like silk around me, a final thrust was all it took for us both to climax together, her muscles milking me, holding me until we both felt the tension in our muscles relax and I pulled away from our kiss.

As we looked into each other's eyes there was no need for us to speak, somehow, I felt we both knew what the other felt. Her arms came around me, her head on my chest, so I walked us into the shower. I was still inside her but already I could feel myself hardening, she was the only woman I knew who could do that to me. We probably wasted a lot of hot water whilst we continued to make love and ensured we were both clean.

As I wrapped a towel around her, I felt the need to talk, to let her know how special she was to me, the thoughts I'd had flying here came back into my mind. Shit, I should have had this talk before we had sex, before I'd let my physical needs lead me. Still wrapped in our towels I sat down with her on my knee, maybe the bathroom floor wasn't the most romantic place for this conversation, but I had to talk and let her know how I felt. I held her tightly to me as I concentrated on the words I wanted to say. Plus, I had never felt as nervous as I did right now.

"I knew when you helped me to get Julie back how fearless you could be, though I was worried when Gannon brought you with us, I should have known you could outwit him. How you worked to get away from that place humbled me, I am so proud of you Babe and that you accept me and the work that I do has shown me what a total fool I've been for keeping you away from me. We have our differences that make us who we are and that you accept mine as I do yours makes me love you even more"

I watched as her eyes teared up knowing she was emotional, just waiting for her to say something. I couldn't hold back any longer and felt now was the time to bear my soul to her.

"Babe, I've been a fool for shutting you out and pushing you away. I know I've told you I love you in my own way, but it's the only way I know. I love you so much it hurts. I need you with me all the time, to love you. Be mine Babe, complete me as my soul mate"

I saw the confusion in her eyes, shit I was responsible for that and I needed her to be sure of exactly what I was saying.

"Babe, there are no barriers to what I feel. I just didn't see the signs or recognize the feelings I had for you. I will never push you away again. I love you so very much Babe. Will you have me, trust me to look after your heart?

I watched as the tears ran down her cheeks as the light in her eyes seemed to brighten.

"I, I never thought I would hear those words"

"I love you Babe, with everything I am"

"I love you too, I have for a long time"

"Hell Babe, why have we wasted so much time?"
"I think we're both to blame for that. I was scared you didn't want me as much as I wanted you. That I could never truly be a part of your life"
"You'll always be a part of my life, Babe. A very important part"

"I was never part of the life my mother wanted for me, I just couldn't do what she expected of me and I could never have been what Morelli wanted, it wasn't who I was, I was never in love with him. I feel like I belong in your world, that we complement each other, and I love you so much, sometimes it hurts"

I kissed her again, holding her to me smelling the scent of Bulgari mingled with hers and then pulled away because of the effect she was already having on me, hell I could never get enough of her.

"Babe unless we want the guys coming up here then we really need to get dressed"

I moved further back and walked from the room hoping she wasn't aware of the state she'd put me in and dressed in cargos and a T-shirt, noticing her come from the bathroom and go to the closet.

"Why are all these clothes in here?"

"For when I brought you here, I suppose, hell Babe even my subconscious was telling me you were the only one for me"

"Thank you"

"For?"

"Bringing me here"

"I don't know how long we'll be here for"

"Is there equipment here?"

"Yes, I'll set things up for you in the sunroom"

I left the room while she got dressed and went down into the vaulted area turning on the security for the house and bringing out several laptops and a printer. Zeph saw me as I returned and helped me to set the things up.

"Ash has another box on the helicopter, I'll go get it then he can set it up"

As Zeph disappeared Ash came into the room looking at what had been set up.

"What security do you have?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well do these just hook up to the internet?"

"Yes, why?"

"I'll set up one of my machines as a mini server, that way I can run a security program to stop anyone from hacking us"

"Steph found out from Gannon that it was him who set up Herichlon so that he could coerce Buckley into handing over his work"

"So you think when Buckley found out he stopped working with him?"

"Possibly"

"Why were the robots at Safenet?"

I turned as Steph came in carrying a box and took it from her to put onto the floor.

"Maybe they had the facilities"

"Yeah but so did that place, Adelphi Laboratory, and surely if it was government research wouldn't they have had them there?"

"Babe why don't we brainstorm some questions we need answers for and that could give us a starting point and focus?"

I nodded to Zeph who followed me back downstairs returning with a board to write on and a pin board. I handed the pen to Steph because to be honest the way she thought would probably raise some questions that the others and I wouldn't think about. I watched as she began to write on the board using bullet points for each question.

Is the microchip still in existence?

Where is it?

What is so important about it?

Were the original break ins really about carbon monoxide detectors or something else?

What are Hastings working on?

Why were the robots at Safenet?

Gauge, where does he fit in – Hastings/Safenet

Dolby what are his motives?

Who shot Buckley/me?

Gannon, what secrets is he keeping?

Is Gannon working with someone else?

I watched as the questions appeared on the board surprised at how little we actually knew and then stood up and added another question.

Why did Gannon arrest us?

"Ash, you want to add anything?"

"Yeah that chip we found, is it important"

"I didn't know you found anything"

"Yeah at Buckley's, outside where you'd fallen, but Hector has it now"

"Is that what I passed to him?"

I saw Ash nod his head as I re read the questions, I was sure we were missing something, maybe as we answered some of the questions we had, things would be more obvious.

"Babe are you going to look again at Buckley and Gannon?"

"Not yet, I want to open those files first"

"Ash, are you still trying to get information on Hastings?"

"Yeah, I started but they have a really high-tech security system on their electronics"

"Zeph, where do you want to start?"

"I'm gonna reach out to some men I've worked with and try and get the low down on Gannon and what he was working on"

"Okay I want to know more about what the army is up to"