Crucible, p.18
CRUCIBLE, page 18
But I couldn’t risk anything slowing me down, or compromising my thought processes, my ability to strategize and lead the agency. Addressing it was the last thing I needed, the last thing I could afford. I couldn’t be showing weakness, or giving the Circle any reason to question my ability to lead the CSA, especially not at this delicate juncture, right after Jim’s death.
“They will challenge you now. Don’t let them. The Circle doesn’t command the CSA, you do.”
Tom Winston’s words rang in my head. They had been ever since that night at the train station.
“I can control it.”
“You can’t control everything.”
“I beg to differ.”
Bill grimaced at my responses. “For how long, though? It’s already getting worse.”
“As long as I have to. Until Tempest is buried, until the CSA is no longer needed.”
“That could be years, especially if the meeting you’ve fast-tracked to tomorrow goes the way we’re expecting.”
“We’ll see.”
Bill cocked an eyebrow. “What does that mean? You have an ace up your sleeve?”
The crunch of footsteps brought our conversation to a grinding halt and we watched as Colin approached.
As he drew closer through the dark of night, I could make out the icepack he had pressed to the left side of his face. He stepped under the floodlight beside us and I took in the black eye forming, as well as the red ring around his neck. He was lucky that’d been the extent of it. Judging by the way he was wincing and shooting daggers my way, he could barely handle that as it was.
I stubbed out my smoke and stepped forward. “Get to it, Colin.”
“First, I want you to answer me something. It’s just a quick question, don’t get your back up,” he spoke, the challenge clear.
Piece of shit. “Shoot.”
“You and my niece, what’s the situation there?”
“Excuse me?”
“I saw something. At the funeral. I want an explanation.”
“Jim asked me to protect her. I’m honoring that.”
“That’s the party line only.”
“Whatever you think you’re seeing, it’s all in your imagination.”
He stared at me the way Paul did when he was searching for more.
Of course, he didn’t see shit from me. I was locked up tight again, nothing coming in or out.
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t want you with her. Do you understand me?”
“It’s crystal clear.”
“And she doesn’t step foot in the CSA either.”
“Colin, the only reason she’s not already on that path is because of Adam,” Bill chimed in. “If you knew the extent he’s had to go to in order to prevent it, you’d be thanking him instead of reprimanding him.”
“Either way, keep her out of it, keep her little crush on you in check too.”
Little crush. He really didn’t have any respect for her.
“Tell me about Hartlett,” I commanded.
“Hartlett is an ex-military colonel. He commands an off-the-radar black ops team. They specialize in sensitive operations. Tempest has contracted them a few times.”
“All this, I already know.”
Colin exhaled, before continuing, “Jameson ordered Hartlett to dispatch his best guy to murder your wife. Ward was that guy. Also, there’s more to the strategy behind the hit than you were made aware of.”
“What strategy?” I pressed. I’d always thought she’d been targeted because of my work with the RPD, specifically, my takedown of their members during a brutal attack on City Hall.
“Jim wanted you back then. He was searching for the one who could carry on his work, his successor. At that point in time, we had a mole in the agency.”
“Who?” Bill demanded.
“You didn’t know?” I asked him. He was always in the know.
“No. Nothing.”
“Colin?” I pressed.
He waved his hand. “They were dealt with. It doesn’t matter. They’re dead. They tried to defect to Jameson and he ended up killing the traitor. It’s buried. That defector leaked intel to Tempest of Jim’s mission to find a new leader for our vigilante group, a leader who could bring forth a stronger, modern era and turn it from the off-the-radar group it was to the public goliath of the Civilian Security Agency. As you’re aware, Jim never wanted to make his involvement public for fear of reprisals that would endanger Kara, just a little girl at the time. So, he sought out another to bear that burden.” He took a moment, then went on, “The mole leaked the names of the candidates to Tempest. They did their research. They found out you were ex-military, a police detective already located in the city, and an idealistic, self-righteous son of a bitch. They saw the threat that you posed above all others. They couldn’t afford you being recruited by Jim.”
“Why not put the hit on me?”
“No one could get at you. You moved like a ghost. So they went after her instead.”
“Jesus, Colin,” Bill exclaimed.
“They intended to break you so that you wouldn’t be anything resembling a threat. They miscalculated. They underestimated your ability to turn it around and your strength of will.”
Fuck.
A decade had passed and I finally had the truth.
And it was brutal.
Carolyn had died because of the CSA.
The irony wasn’t lost on me for a moment.
It was a lot for even somebody as practiced as me to compartmentalize.
But I had to.
With Colin right here, already snapping earlier, I had to swallow it down.
And there was the whole issue of Ward’s involvement with another infamous murder too that had yet to be addressed.
I drew in a breath, then told Colin, “Jason Ward also killed Jim. I received confirmation this morning.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“You knew?” Bill asked, mirroring my reaction.
“Jesus Christ, Colin,” I said, stepping up to him. “Going forward, I need full disclosure from you. I am the Commander of this agency. Everything stops at me.”
“But I—”
“I don’t care what you think is best. I make those decisions. Your role in that is long past. You’re no longer an active agent of the CSA.”
“I am a member of the Circle.”
“Out of respect to Jim.”
“Because I was a founding member!”
“Regardless, you withhold information from me again, expect severe consequences. We cannot operate like this.”
“You can’t threaten me.”
“Threaten? It’s a promise.”
“You little—”
I breached his personal space and growled low, “Things have changed. Jim isn’t here to cover your ass now.”
I stepped back and turned on my heel. “Don’t question me again,” I called over my shoulder as I made my way back to the main building.
I heard Bill telling Colin, “You can’t manipulate him, give it up.”
He was at my side in a few strides, asking, “What are you going to do about Ward and Specter?”
“Find them.”
And make them fucking well pay.
Nobody escaped my wrath.
Nobody.
28
~Rick~
GOOD GIRL.
She’d obeyed me, leaving her window unlocked just as I’d instructed.
Smiling to myself, I climbed through and slid into her bedroom.
I scanned the pitch-black room.
I couldn’t see her anywhere.
But I could feel her.
I had her location locked down before she even stepped out of the shadows between her closet and her bedroom door.
My eyes were well-trained to operating in the dark through my work with the CSA, so it only took me moments to adjust. And then I saw the coy little smile spread across her face as she slowly walked to me.
“Your entire approach was a lesson in ultimate stealth,” she said.
“You saw that, huh?”
“The whole thing.” She gestured to a pair of binoculars on her dresser. “From the depths of the forest surrounding the house, the trellis ascension, and the window entrance.”
“You know, when you tap into your instincts, you’ll be able to feel my approach. You won’t need tools or devices.”
“Yeah?” she said, stopping in front of me.
I reached out and ran my fingers over the lace bust of her silky pajama tank. “Hell, yeah.” I slid my fingers along the tops of her breasts, down to her cleavage, making her breath hitch. “At first, it’ll be like a shudder of awareness, coursing through your body like livewires.” I trailed lower to her stomach. “You’ll be able to feel it right here eventually,” I said, drawing slow circles that had her biting her lip. “A gut feeling. You’ll know where I am, you’ll feel me, my presence rolling through you. More and more, the deeper we connect. It’ll go beyond the sensation of sensing the location and movements of your enemies. This, between us, is far more than that.”
“Then show me,” she uttered on a husky whisper.
I pulled back, grinning at the sense of victory rolling over me. Finally. “Grab a jacket. Put some shoes on.”
“What?” She swung her head at her bed, before looking back at me, all confused. “I thought—”
“Your fantasies are far too pedestrian.”
“That’s not—that’s the impression I got last we spoke.”
“Then I’m here to subvert.” I gestured at her closet. “Jacket. Shoes. Clock’s ticking.”
“What?”
“I’m giving you a ten-minute head start.”
“To do what?”
“Run.”
Her eyes went wide.
Fear collided with excitement.
Exactly what I’d been waiting on from her.
I smirked, unable to hide the sadistic glint in my eyes.
***
Her rapid-fire breathing sung through the trees in the dark depths of the forest. The rush of her footsteps added to the delicious soundtrack echoing around me.
I was impressed. She’d made it a good half a mile in.
Far enough away without having to worry about interference.
Far enough away that her screams wouldn’t be heard by security guarding her house.
Where we could finally be our true selves.
It was a part of her I was all too eager to introduce her to, a part she was finally ready to explore.
Once she did, she’d never be the same.
She’d never be able to walk away.
She’d fucking well crave me.
“You feel that?” I called out.
Her footsteps faltered at the sound of my voice, clearly realizing just how close I was.
I smiled and went on, “Your heart pounding in your ears, that heat thrumming through your veins? Blending into your surroundings, moving with everything around you? Feeling every little sensation? The rustle of the leaves rushing by, the movement of the air around you, the ground beneath your feet, letting it all flow through you as you become a part of it, as you work it to your will? That’s you giving over to that part of you that you’ve been so afraid of. You feel that freedom? That peace? One of the perks, Kara.”
I turned in the direction I knew she was hiding and a slight gasp whispered in the wind.
There was no way she could’ve seen me, not from the way I was positioned. “Sensed that, huh? Good. Very good. The deeper you go into that headspace, the easier it’ll get, the more vibrant everything will become, the more power that’ll roll through you. Better than real good sex. Although, for you, I doubt you’ve ever had it good. You’ve held yourself way too closed off to allow that. Probably only ever managed to come by your own hand, huh?”
I felt movement all around me.
She was moving erratically, trying to throw me off.
I spun as my senses screamed at me.
Right into her lunging through the trees at me, coming from up high.
I let her slam into me and take me down to the grass.
She used the momentum to roll me onto my back, putting herself on top in the dominant position—or what she believed to be the dominant position. It would’ve been if she was dealing with anybody else.
She straddled me, driving her knees into my ribs, making me grunt.
She slammed my hands down either side of my head, digging her nails into my palms, deep enough to make me really feel it.
It sent a jolt of need straight to my cock. Yeah, just like that.
“I’m very efficient,” she told me.
“At taking down an opponent, or making yourself come?”
She grinned proudly. “Both.”
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but your perception is fucked.”
She frowned down at me.
“One. You don’t know what it’s like to really come. Not until you let loose that part of you that’s been on lockdown for way too long. Two. You didn’t take me down.”
In the next second, I used her hold on my wrists to throw her over my head. I rolled sharply to my right just as I heard the hefty thud of her hitting the bramble bush behind us, and I spun to see her sprawled out there on her front choking from having the wind knocked out of her.
She heard my footsteps coming toward her and started scrambling to get up, hissing as the thorns and sharp edges of the plants cut into her skin as she fought to get away.
To save herself.
Blood was roaring in my ears, anticipation thrumming through me, making my hands shake with the furor of it, as I stalked closer and closer.
I was on her in the next moment, wrapping my arm around her throat, forcing her head back at an uncomfortable angle.
“Too late,” I whispered in her ear. “You’re already caught.”
Survival mode kicked in and she grabbed at my arm banded across her trachea, trying to pry it off.
“Relax. Let it all go.”
But she didn’t.
She was just getting more worked up by the second, fighting herself once again. Just as I’d expected.
She struggled against me, her firm little ass inadvertently rubbing against my cock as she did. The urge to rip down her shorts and ram balls deep into her tight cunt was another level.
But I wouldn’t.
Not until she let go.
Not until she met me on my level.
I reached out and snapped a piece of bramble from the bush, holding it in front of her. “Take your breasts out.”
She shuddered.
“Do it.” I leaned in and nipped at her earlobe. “This is me asking nicely.”
Her hands left my arm, shaking as she peeled down the straps of her tank, then pulled it down to her stomach, her breasts spilling free.
I groaned. “Fucking beautiful.”
“Rick,” she rasped against my constricting grip.
“Thought this was just gonna be a quick, rough fuck in the woods, huh?” I yanked her head back painfully, relishing the cry that came from her. “Did you really think I’d let you use this one night you agreed to let me in just for you to fuck me out of your system, then cast me aside again? Nah, I’m gonna engrave myself so deep under your skin that you’ll always feel me there. I’m gonna mark you so you’ll see me everywhere.” I sucked on her neck, making her squirm. “I’m gonna fuck your cunt raw so you’ll hurt for me with every step you take, so you’ll remember what it was like to be fucked by me. And through it all, you’ll know nobody else could ever hope to measure up. You’ll crave me, darlin’.”
“It’s… it’s too much,” she choked out.
That was just the shame talking. The nerves of experiencing something new, of straying from her comfort zone. The fear that came with the volatile nature of unleashing.
“You don’t want soft and safe. You want to feel alive, to let loose everything you’ve buried deep. And you want me to take you there.”
“No.”
“Kara.”
“I… I can’t.”
The hard way it was.
“I’m gonna remove my arm and you’re gonna pull down your shorts and panties and show me your pretty cunt. You try to run and I’ll chase. I won’t be so gentle about it this time.” I took in her wide-eyed expression as she realized that what she’d probably thought of as me being rough was nothing compared to what I was capable of bringing to the table.
She nodded.
I removed my arm and stepped back, holding the large piece of bramble in my left hand as I watched her slowly turn around and then inch her shorts and panties down her legs. I smiled to myself when I saw a spark of anticipation amongst the fear and uncertainty that had her in its grip. She pulled them all the way off her ankles, then kicked them a couple of feet away.
Her smooth cunt came into view and I stepped closer, taking in what I’d known I’d find.
She was dripping wet, her lips glistening with her arousal.
Unlike a lot of women and men I’d been with, Kara wasn’t showing any signs of being uncomfortable at baring her naked body, not even in the brazen way I was forcing her to. She stood confident in herself.
It wasn’t until she followed my gaze to her dripping cunt that she reacted negatively and slapped her hand over it, because she knew she’d been caught out with the reluctant façade she’d been giving me. The truth was undeniable. She was so fucking turned on.
I glared hard at her and she got the message, removing her hand.
“Good little whore.”
A brief spark lit her eyes at my words. Interesting.
“Drop to your knees and spread your thighs as wide as you can, then grasp them tightly.”
Swallowing hard, she lowered herself like I’d ordered and spread herself open.
My balls tightened as the position parted her folds, offering me a hell of a view, an erotic promise of what was to come.
Once I’d pushed her to the edge, anyway.
