Eton's Escape Read online

  He rolled over and checked his clock. “It’s two o’clock in the afternoon,” he said. “Wow.”

  “That’s what I mean.”

  “Have you been awake long?”

  “Somewhere around the time you smiled,” she murmured, burrowing in deeper.

  He chuckled. “In other words, you haven’t been asleep very long.”

  “Awake, you mean. Jeez, did you get hit on the head or what?”

  He tilted her chin and kissed her, then hopped up and walked to the bathroom. When he returned, he slipped back under the blankets.

  Then she raced to the bathroom and came right back as well. As she did, she said, “It’s a rainy day out there.”

  “I didn’t really want to spend any time outside anyway,” he said.

  She looked at him, “How is the head?”

  “Feels like it got kicked around a bit.”

  “Looks a little like it too,” she said, with a smile.

  “Hey, did I mention how you look after getting punched in the face yesterday?”

  “Oh, hush.”

  He flung the blankets back and said, “Were you anxious to leave the bed, or are you getting back in?”

  Standing there completely nude, she looked at herself and smiled. “Nope. I wasn’t planning on leaving it for the rest of the day. Although we will need food at some point.”

  “Right,” he said, “not sure what we should do about that. Are you hungry, hungry like need it now?”

  “No, not now, but soon,” she murmured. He picked up his phone and sent a message to his team. “Don’t tell me that they’ll order food for you?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. “If anybody’s nearby, they’ll deliver it too. But, in the meantime, they’ll set it up, so it’s ordered and won’t be tracked back to us.”

  “Perfect.” She slipped back under the covers and said, “How long?”

  “I told them an hour.”

  “Oh, good.” She snuggled under the blankets and closed her eyes.

  “Did you have something you wanted to do for the next hour?” he asked, as he nuzzled her neck.

  She smiled, wrapped an arm around him, and then flipped over, so she faced him. “I’m sure we can find something,” she said. He leaned down and first kissed her gently, then a little harder, then harder yet again. She sighed happily, stretched out along his lean length, wrapping her leg around his hip and thigh. “I didn’t really expect to find somebody through this nightmare,” she said. “My father’s one wish for me was that I would be settled before he passed on.”

  “Well, he might not know about it, but I’m pretty sure you’re settled,” he murmured against her lips.

  “Am I though?” she asked, her gaze twinkling up at him.

  “Oh, you are,” he said, and, leaning over, he kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around him and hung on tight, and he could feel the heat building between them. He was loving every second of it. She opened her eyes, looked up at him and whispered, “Thank you.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “Thank you?”

  “For saving my life.”

  “We got your home burned down with your dad’s body in it. I’m so sorry about that. It must have been awful for you.”

  “Not your fault,” she said. “And, if we hadn’t had that warning, Garret and I may have gotten picked off, trying to get out, if not consumed by the fire. And, if I’d been asleep, I wouldn’t have gotten out of the house at all, and, with my last thoughts, I wouldn’t have known about Dad.”

  He kissed her again. “I don’t even want to think about it,” he said. “I’ll have nightmares about this one for a long time.”

  “I know,” she said, “a lot of close calls. At least we have this moment. And each other.”

  He said, “I’m sorry that I never had a chance to meet your father, but I’m grateful to him for leaving such a wonderful daughter behind.”

  She smiled. “You say the nicest things.”

  “Because I mean them,” he said sincerely.

  She smiled and said, “And you can look after me, huh?”

  He chuckled. “Is that part of the deal?”

  “Only as far as he’s concerned,” she said. “I prefer Ice’s take, and, when shit’s about to fly down the pipeline, I need to be just as prepared as you.”

  He rolled his eyes at that. “Nobody in this world would get away with telling Ice that she should stay in the vehicle,” he said.

  “She didn’t want to lose you two up there, and neither did I.”

  “The good thing is, you didn’t,” he said, with a smile, “and now we have a few days just to ourselves.”

  “Perfect,” she said and opened her arms.

  Chapter 15

  Sammy couldn’t believe how swollen her heart felt right now. It overflowed with joy, love, sorrow, grief, surprise, and adventure. Her emotions were so overwhelming and so deep that she couldn’t sort them out and had no intention of trying to right now. “I suggest we enjoy every moment of time we have,” she murmured. When she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “Especially this way.”

  And he kissed her, their mouths and their tongues warring gently as they eased into it, but passion struck hard and fast, and before long, she twisted beneath him, pleading with him to put her out of her misery. He rose above her, his hands holding her arms high above her head, and entered in one full plunge. She groaned, settled, and shifted, as he paused for a moment, and, still holding her arms, her legs high up around his hips, he lifted up. He groaned and started to move rapidly, until they both cried out in joy. When he finally collapsed beside her, she whispered, “This is a great way to spend a few days.”

  He chuckled. “I hear you,” he said. “I need to heal up a bit to get back to full strength.”

  “Did that hurt your head?”

  “Absolutely no way,” he said.

  “Perfect,” she said. “We can keep doing this all day then.”

  He chuckled. “Maybe not all day,” he murmured. “But I’m totally okay to see how much we can get through over the next couple days.”

  “No contest,” she said, “just a gentle, enjoyable time for the two of us.”

  “Perfect,” he said, then checked the time. “By the way, we’re coming up on an hour.”

  “Perfect,” she said. “I need food.” She got out of bed and walked over to his bag. “So, do you want any clothes?”

  “No, just my boxers,” he said, which she tossed to him, and he put on. “And that’s only because I need to answer the door.”

  She smiled and asked, “Can I have the T-shirt then?”

  He looked over just as she put his T-shirt over her head. “I like it better on you anyway,” he joked.

  She smiled, as it just went down to the top of her thighs.

  When she heard an odd knock at the door, he walked over, then waited while it was repeated. He counted down from five to one. And at one, he opened the door. She came up to his side and looked around the hallway, but nobody was there. Two large bags of food were on the ground outside their room. He picked them up, brought them inside. “Well, we won’t starve.”

  “Oh, I am loving this,” she said. “Seriously, we won’t have any interruptions?”

  “No, no interruptions.”

  “And Garret is safe?”

  “Garret is safe,” he said.

  She frowned, looked at him, and said, “You are sure about that, right?”

  “He texted me earlier this morning to say that he’d landed safely in Australia.”

  “Good,” she said, “because I don’t trust him to stay put.”

  “I said he was safe. I didn’t say anything about him staying put.”

  “Do you think he’s in danger?”

  “Absolutely he’s in danger,” he said quietly. “And, if I know Garret, he’s had about enough of the guy who hired these assholes.”

  “And what about us?” she asked. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “We’
re here for three days,” he said, “And then … how do you feel about traveling to Australia?”

  Her gaze widened. “I’ve never been.”

  “And?”

  She smiled. “I’d be delighted to go.”

  “Do you have a passport?”

  She nodded. “I have all my papers, thanks to Garret. I just don’t have any clothes.”

  “Personally I think what you’re wearing is perfect,” he said, “or you could always wear Garret’s. His bag is over there. Or I can put in an order for a few things, when I have them arrange for the tickets so we can get home.”

  “Is Australia home?”

  “No, but it’s one of the bases we were looking at setting up,” he said. “Africa is home.”

  “Africa?” she said, surprised.

  He smiled and said, “Yeah, don’t worry. You’ll love it.”

  She smiled, wrapped her arms around him, and said, “I’m sure I will. As long as you’re there.”

  “Not sure about needing any architects there though,” he murmured.

  “I have a lot of clients all over the world,” she said. “Not to worry. I’ll keep busy wherever I am.”

  “And, if you don’t,” he said, tilting her head up and giving her a long deep soul-searching kiss. “I’ve got ideas on how to fill your time.”

  She laughed. “I like the sound of that just fine.”

  Epilogue

  Garret Balderson landed in Perth and walked out of the airport to see Kano standing there, waiting for him. “Any news?”

  “On Bullard, no,” Kano said. “On the guys who hired the men you just took out, yes. Come on. Let’s get going.”

  “Will we be centered in Australia?”

  “No,” Kano said. “Sounds like we’re heading to England.”

  “England, huh? Why am I not surprised? Have you done a full rundown on Kingdom Securities?”

  “Yeah, and some questions have definitely come up.”

  “Okay, so now what?” asked Garret.

  “Let’s talk,” Kano said.

  “I’ll talk, providing you’ve got a direction for me to go.”

  “We do,” Kano said. “I just want you to calm down. Hold your horses a little, and let’s get a play in place.”

  “Absolutely,” Garret said. “Let’s do it.”

  “Did you hear from Eton?” Kano asked.

  “He’s fine, healing up. The two of them are doing great, and they’ll be in Australia in three days.”

  “Good,” Kano said.

  “I can’t believe that’s three for three,” Garret said. “Wait ’til you see Sammy.”

  “A looker, is she? Does she have heart?”

  “More than we’ve seen from a lot of people,” he said, explaining how the last craziness up on the hilltop went down and her role in it.

  Kano chuckled. “Right in the forehead? While perched in a tree? Come on. You’re making that up.”

  “I’m not though. That’s the thing,” Garret replied.

  “Well,” Kano said, “you’ve got to love a woman who can throw a pitch like that.”

  “Exactly. Kano, come on. What is it you’re holding back?”

  “Let me explain,” he said. “We just don’t have all the answers we need yet.”

  “We have to have something,” Garret said.

  “There was a woman,” Kano said, “one not all that unknown to us.”

  “Who? What are you talking about?”

  “She may have intel on Kingdom Securities.”

  “Who is she?”

  Kano took a deep breath and said, “You know her.”

  “I know a lot of women, Kano. I’m just that kind of guy,” he said, with a ridiculous grin. “What about her?”

  “That’s who you’ll meet up with in England.”

  “Why?”

  “She has information,” he said.

  “Information on …? Come on. What?”

  “On your brother.” The words came out in a rush, and Kano looked like he wanted to disappear.

  Garret stared at him in shock. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your brother has been working for Kingdom.”

  “No, he hasn’t. Why would Gregg do that? It makes no sense.”

  “Yes, he has,” he said. “And she has information on it.”

  “No way. And I care about her intel, why?”

  “She implied, whether it’s right or wrong, that your brother might have had something to do with the attack on you and Bullard.”

  “Are you saying that it wasn’t Bullard they were trying to take out, but it was me?”

  The words were like a stab to the heart. He’d been so focused on who was trying to take out Bullard that it never occurred to him that it might have been personal against someone else, least of all him.

  “That’s what we’re considering,” he said.

  “Why would my brother do that?”

  “I don’t know,” Kano said. “You tell me.”

  “There’s no reason for it, no motive,” he said. “My brother and I have always been close.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure,” he said. “It makes no sense.”

  “Well, Amy is over there, and she’s willing to talk.”

  He groaned. “Amy? Jesus, that’s all I need.”

  “Yeah,” Kano said.

  Garret looked at him. “You know she was my girlfriend, right? My fiancée?”

  Kano nodded slowly. “I know.”

  “And you know she cheated on me with my brother, right?”

  Kano winced. “I heard rumors, yes.”

  “And you know we can’t trust anything she says, right?”

  “That assumption would be implied, based on the circumstances of your relationship,” Kano agreed.

  “So why the hell am I wasting time going over there to listen to anything she has to say?”

  “Because your brother has disappeared,” he said. “And that’s something I’m pretty sure you’ll want to deal with.”

  “Shit,” he said. “When am I leaving?”

  “You see that I haven’t turned on the engine, right?”

  He looked at him, back at the airport, and said, “Now?”

  “You’re flying out in an hour and twenty,” he said. “I brought your extra gear bag. Eton will bring back your stuff from the chalet with him.”

  “Who’s coming with me?”

  “I am,” Kano said. “This time I’ll be your backup.”

  Garret said, “Let’s do it then.”

  This concludes Book 3 of Bullard’s Battle: Eton’s Escape.

  Read about Garret’s Gambit: Bullard’s Battle, Book 4

  Garret’s Gambit: Bullard’s Battle (Book #4)

  Welcome to a new stand-alone but interconnected series from Dale Mayer. This is Bullard’s story—and that of his team’s. All raw, rough, incredibly capable men who have one goal: to find out who was behind the attack on their leader, before the attacker, or attackers, return to finish the job.

  Stay tuned for more nonstop action as the men narrow down their suspects … and find a way to let love back into their own empty lives.

  Stronger than he had any right to be after the plane explosion and still angry about it all, Garret’s seriously unimpressed to fly to London to speak with an ex-fiancée who’d screwed him over with his own brother. But she had information on his missing brother, who was a link to the plane crash that sent Garret into the ocean.

  Yet Astra, not Amy, waits in London for Garret, to explain the little she knows, hoping he’ll let go of some of his resentment and help her look for her sister, Amy—who disappears just before Garret’s arrival. Some coincidence there. Then her sister hasn’t faced the music for any of her actions in a long time. Today is no different. Too bad Amy and Garret hadn’t broken up much earlier. It might have given Astra a chance with the man she has loved since forever.

  Still, if finding Astra’s sister leads Garret to
finding his brother, who might be able to give them answers regarding the sabotaged plane, then Astra’s happy to play the game. However, it’s not that easy, as the men who failed to kill the two team members are still looking for their chance to finish the job. And to take out anyone who is close by …

  Find Book 4 here!

  To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.

  Damon’s Deal: Terkel’s Team (Book #1)

  Welcome to a brand-new connected series of intrigue, betrayal, and … murder, from the USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. A series with all the elements you’ve come to love, plus so much more… including psychics!

  A betrayal from within has Terkel frantic to protect those he can, as his team falls one by one, from a murderous killer he helped create.

  Ice poured herself a coffee and sat down at the compound’s massive dining room table with the others. When her phone rang, she smiled at the number displayed. “Hey, Terk. How’re you doing?” She put the call on Speakerphone.

  “I’m okay,” Terkel said, his voice distracted and tight.

  “Terk?” Merk called from across the table. He got up and walked closer and sat across from Levi. “You don’t sound too good, brother. What’s up?”

  “I’m fine,” Terk said. “Or I will be. Right now, things are blown to shit.”

  “As in literally?” Merk asked.

  “The entire group,” Terk said, “they’re all gone. I had a solid team of eight, and they’re all gone.”

  “Dead?”

  Several others stood to join them, gathered around Ice’s phone. Levi stepped forward, his hand on Ice’s shoulder. “Terk? Are they all dead?”

  “No.” Terk took a deep breath. “I’m not making sense. I’m sorry.”

  “Take it easy,” Ice said, her voice calm and reassuring. “What do you mean, they’re all gone?”

  “All their abilities are gone,” he said. “Something’s happened to them. Somebody has deliberately removed whatever super senses they could utilize—or what we have been utilizing for the last ten years for the government.” His tone was bitter. “When the US gov recently closed us down, they promised that our black ops department would never rise again, but I didn’t expect them to attack us personally.”