Imprisoned Match [Ménage.com 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (14 page)

Elliott slipped out behind her and followed her to the B&B. It was hard not to get distracted by that cute, round, sashaying ass of hers. He had yet to take her there, but it was on his list of many things to do. The heights that he and Mitch could take her to were nowhere near the surface they had scratched. It would take a lifetime to show her the things they wanted to. He and Mitch needed to make sure they had that time with her.

Right before Anna was about to walk up the steps to enter the B&B, Elliott quickened his pace so that he positioned himself between her and the door. He’d done that on purpose, so that he could keep an eye out for anyone who might come up behind them. Taking her face in his hands, Elliott could see she wasn’t surprised that he had followed.

“Mitch is worried about you.”

“I let things get too involved between the three of us, Elliott,” Anna said, sadness adding a dull tint to her blue eyes. She encased his wrists with her fingers. “I can’t afford this distraction, and it wasn’t fair of me to bring you or Mitch into my mess—my life.”

Elliott felt his chest fill with panic but didn’t let her see his alarm. She was going to use this situation to put distance between them, and just like when he first confronted her at the diner, he knew that if he let her walk away now, they’d never see her again. He had to convince her that what was building between them had more substance than just fucking.

“But you did, Anna. And whether you admit it today, tomorrow, or next week, you know in your heart that we’ve given you more reason to live than any vendetta ever could. We didn’t go into this blind. We knew the risks. We are trusting you with our future. And when I say that, I mean our future with you.”

“We have no future, Elliott,” Anna said almost desperately. “I knew that a month ago, but I still let myself fantasize. This isn’t going to end well. If the ATF does their job and they bring down part of this cartel, I will probably still go to jail.”

“You don’t have to do this, Anna,” Elliott said, tightening his fingers over her cheekbones. She was so beautiful, and while she might think she was invincible, Elliott was all too aware of what might take place. But it was this blind loyalty she couldn’t see past. If he could just get her to open her eyes. “The DEA has what they need to bring Sam Fowler down. That’s what you wanted. It’s over. Why subject yourself to going up against a drug cartel?”

“Because the drug charges aren’t enough to keep him in prison for as long as I want him to suffer,” Anna replied, tightening her grasp almost in a pleading fashion. “This is something that I have to do, Elliott, not just for my family, but for me.”

“Fine,” Elliott said, releasing her and taking a step back. He could see he had caught her by surprise. “We’ll play it your way, but Mitch and I are seeing this to the end.”

“I don’t want—”

“Too bad,” Elliott said, cutting her off. “We don’t want you doing this, so I guess we’re even. But if we only have four days with you before they haul your ass off to jail, then Mitch and I will make the most of it.”

Elliott could see his flippant response cause a fire in her. Good. He didn’t want her to think of their feelings at the moment, because she was right, and it would only cause her to be distracted. But he meant half of what he’d said. They would make the most of their four days, and while she was busy setting things up with the ATF, Elliott had more important things to tend to—like their future.

* * * *

Mitch’s cock was about to explode. Four days. It had been four days since they’d made love to Anna, and his body was feeling every agonizing minute. And that was only the physical part. His heart couldn’t take the thought of something happening to her. He’d gone and done the one thing he’d set out not to do when he was sent to prison. He’d fallen in love. He was fucked now, and not in a good way.

They stood off to the side of her room at the B&B, watching as Anna finished buttoning her shirt. A wire was threaded through her bra, giving the ATF the ability to hear every word that would be spoken at the drop tonight. She was going as Anna Cruz, dressed to the nines and wearing a black wig. The woman standing in front of them wasn’t the Anna they’d come to know. This person was cold, calculating, and deadly. Although she’d never killed anyone, Mitch had no doubt that she’d kill in self-defense. She had a self-preservation that he could relate to.

“We just need to get her out of this alive. I’ve taken care of the rest.”

Mitch turned his head to see his brother leaning against the wall, watching as Agent Monroe gave Anna some last-minute details. One of Monroe’s men was keeping tabs on Sam, making sure he wasn’t aware of what was about to take place. According to Monroe, Fowler was already on his way to the meeting site. Elliott seemed more relaxed than he had four days ago. Mitch knew that Elliott had something up his sleeve, and he wasn’t too happy that he wasn’t privy to what it was.

“Care to share?”

Elliott shook his head. “Can’t. At least not yet.”

“Since when have you ever kept anything from me?” Mitch asked. “Well, besides the fact that you signed us up for a dating website.”

“If I hadn’t joined, we wouldn’t be standing here,” Elliott said with that annoying smirk of his.

“I’m in love with her,” Mitch declared. He leaned back against the sink, crossing his arms across his chest. “Ain’t that a bitch.”

“And what’s wrong with that? You think I don’t feel the same? The woman is a puzzle that I want to put together for the rest of our lives. Mom might not be happy with the fact that she’s a criminal, though. Or with the fact that we’ve only known her for a month.”

“Dads should understand,” Mitch said, crossing his ankles and getting comfortable. It looked as if Anna and Monroe might be discussing things for a while. “They said they knew Mom was their soul mate the first time they saw her in her cheerleading outfit.”

“Don’t go there,” Elliott said, laughter lacing his voice. “I still can’t picture Mom as a cheerleader.”

They were quiet for a moment, watching Anna as she straightened out her wig. The red blouse she had on spoke volumes about her confidence, setting the tone that she wasn’t to be messed with. The high heels seemed laughable, but Anna said that everything could count as a weapon. Mitch had seen lesser things used in prison, so he totally understood where she was coming from. He just didn’t like the thought of her being the one on the defensive.

“How did she integrate herself into our hearts like this?”

“We both know that wasn’t her plan,” Elliott said. “So that just means we have to do whatever is necessary to make sure she doesn’t weave her way out.”

“Whatever you’re working on—I trust you, brother.” Elliott slapped Mitch on the shoulder, probably knowing that was as close to him saying
I love you
as Mitch would ever get. He meant it, though. His brother was his support system, and now they both had Anna to incorporate into that dependent structure. Nothing could happen to her tonight. “Go hitch a ride with Monroe. Since I’ll be posing as her driver, I’ll do my damndest to make sure she’s protected.”

Mitch rubbed his chin, his stubble thicker than it normally was, reminding him that he needed to trim it. He hadn’t had time, and seeing Anna look over at them, he wasn’t going to either. His appearance actually worked in his favor, seeing as Anna needed someone who looked like a criminal. Huh—wasn’t that ironic, Mitch thought.

He took in her blue eyes and her sleek figure, knowing there was so much more to her than her appearance. It didn’t matter if she was a redhead, a brunette, a blonde, or bald—he loved her sense of loyalty, although that’s what had gotten her into this mess to begin with. He loved her compassion, her intelligence, and even her pride. He adored the ground she walked on and wanted to give her back the sense of family that she seemed to crave.

When Anna nodded their way, Mitch returned the gesture. It was time to finish this segment of her life and start something new. He could see the doubt in her eyes. Anna wasn’t aware that Elliott was trying his damndest to keep her out of jail. Hell, Mitch had his doubts as well. But if Elliott said it was a possibility, then it could happen.

“I’ll be right there with you, along with a string of agents armed to the teeth. Nothing’s going to go wrong.”

“Would you stop trying to jinx this shit?” Mitch asked, getting irritated that his brother always tended to look toward the positive end of things. There were a lot of fucking things that could go wrong.

“Jinx what?”

Anna walked up to them, looking nothing like the blue-eyed, redheaded woman Mitch had first met. She’d even covered up that adorable dusting of freckles over her nose. Right now, her skin was like porcelain and she had an untouchable air about her. He wanted to kiss her until that red lipstick was smeared off her lips and there was rouge in her cheeks.

“Nothing,” Elliott answered. “Are you ready?”

Anna nodded, looking down into her shirt. “Yeah, I just can’t forget to turn this wire on before the deal goes down.”

“What do you mean?” Elliott asked. “Aren’t they recording everything we say right now?”

“No,” Anna replied. “Apparently, they will scan my body for wires once I step out of the vehicle. This particular wire has the ability to go undetected unless it’s functioning. So, there’s a little switch I need to make sure is flipped once they say I’m clean.”

“I still don’t like this.” Mitch looked over to where Monroe stood, a vest in hand that Mitch knew to have the letters ATF on the back. “I’m warning you now, if anything happens to her, I’ll—”

“It doesn’t look good—you threatening the life of an ATF agent,” Anna whispered, placing her hand in the middle of his chest.

Mitch looked down, noticing that she’d changed her fingernail polish from pink to red. No matter what color, her touch felt the same. Mitch closed his eyes, relishing the feel of her heat through his shirt. He could feel his heart racing at the thought of losing her. He’d always had a hard time expressing his feelings, and now was no different. He wanted to tell her what she meant to him, that the thought of her being hurt caused him so much pain that he couldn’t breathe. Opening his eyes, he stared into her baby blues. No words came out.

“All right,” Agent Monroe said. “Let’s go.”

“There’s still time to turn around, Ginger.”

“Mitch, we’re here,” Anna said, trying to keep the tremor of fear out of her voice. Since when had these types of meetings ever made her react this way? There were numerous answers to that question, she was sure. From Sam Fowler being her last target and knowing her vendetta was coming to an end to knowing that she would probably be serving jail time after this if they didn’t kill her tonight. But she knew the real reason was because this might be the last time she saw Mitch and Elliott Braxton. “They’re waiting for us to get out of the car. If we tried to leave now, chances are they’d gun us down before we hit the road leading out of here. So take your hands off the steering wheel, get out of the front seat, and open my door. Anna Cruz doesn’t do things for herself when there are others to do things for her.”

Mitch did take his hands off of the wheel, but he shifted in his seat to look back at her. His hair really needed to be trimmed and his chin shaved, but no one could say he didn’t look the part of her lackey. His intimidating height of six feet and four inches, along with his massive chest, would have done the trick. The extra accessories were an added bonus.

“Just for the record, I don’t like Anna Cruz.”

Anna didn’t think she would have been able to laugh at a time like this, but his statement did the trick. Hoping she hadn’t gotten lipstick on her teeth, Anna tried to compress her lips together. It wouldn’t do for Anna Cruz to have anything out of place.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Mitch,” Anna said, looking out the windshield. Sam Fowler was standing alongside two men who looked like murder was a pastime they would enjoy. “I don’t like Anna Cruz much either.”

“Then let’s make sure Anna Valdez is the one left standing after this,” Mitch replied, giving her a wink.

Anna wanted to tell him thank you for not making this harder on her by arguing, but Mitch had already opened the door and was out of the car before she could say a word. She rubbed her hands down her black skirt, wiping away the sweat that had formed on her palms. She didn’t want the cartel to think she was nervous.

When Mitch opened the door, Anna swung her stiletto-clad, size-six feet out the door one by one. All men loved heels, and just because the men waiting for her were murderers and drug dealers didn’t make them any different. Mitch held out his hand and she placed her fingers on his palm. Knowing she couldn’t look him in the eye without wanting to hide back in the car and make a run for it like he’d suggested, Anna set her sights on Sam Fowler. The Contractor was already doomed to prison time, but after this, he wouldn’t see the light of day for years to come. There was a slight panic in his eyes as he figured out who her driver was. She gave a small smile, liking that she was keeping him on edge.

Letting go of Mitch’s hand, Anna slowly made her way toward the waiting men. Knowing that her surroundings were important if things went to hell, Anna took her time observing where everyone and everything seemed to be. One of Agent Monroe’s agents sat behind the wheel of a cargo truck that had her illegal firearms loaded on the back. He’d followed behind them. She figured they’d already scanned his body for wires while she was speaking with Mitch. There were two cars parked to the side, one of them Fowler’s. There were a couple of men near the other vehicle, and Anna knew one of them would be trying to drive her cargo truck out of here.