"what, coop?"

he looked at me and shook his head, "the protection team has gone missing. they have hourly check-ins with someone, and it's been five hours since a check-in has happened."

my breath was stolen. i shook my head, "no."

he nodded, "i know. your mom, more than likely, got the kids away, but...i still want to know. we need to figure out what's happened."

it was my worst-case scenario. there was nothing i could do, from where i stood. "i need to find them. come get me."

he nodded and the call ended.

i turned and looked at the gate; there was no way i was climbing over it.

i turned my back and waited for servario to hurry up and come drag me back. the defeat and fear were all consuming. how could i find my family, if he was holding me captive?

servario chuckled, "you're taking my clothes again. i think you've forgotten the deal we have about you taking the things i bought you."

i looked down, grinning, hiding the terror i was feeling. i shook my head, "you didn't buy this for me. i stole it."

"same thing. it's mine. you're mine."

i fought the tears in my throat, "fine, have them back but i'm not yours."

i pulled down the shorts, luckily the shirt was long enough to cover my bare ass. i noticed a guard in the guardhouse across the huge driveway. he looked confused.

servario shouted at him, "take a break and turn off the cameras!"

the guard closed the blinds.

i bit my lip and lifted the shirt up. it was pulled down hard and fast, dragged against my skin. his huge hands pinned it to my sides, "stop that," he scolded.

i shook my head, "you are distracting me on purpose. i see it now. your role in this, from the beginning was to distract me. tell me the truth. my kids are missing. you tell me the god damned truth." i was shaking from the bad things rolling through my mind.

i stared at the massive wrought-iron gate that dwarfed even him.

his words came slowly, "you were so wrapped up in them at first, it was so easy. you missed so many things, running here and there and everywhere with the kids. then you got bored. i was scared you would see the truth then. i was about to intervene, when you found hot yoga."

i turned to face him, shoving him, "are you high? what does this have to do with my kids?"

he kissed the top of my head, looking grim, "the secret must be kept at all costs."

it hit me like a ton bricks in the head, "you're the master key..." the words left my dry mouth. i felt him nod against the top of my head, "who better, than a man suspected of a thousand bad things."

chapter fourteen - why mommy, what big shoes you have!

we hadn't spoken in hours.

he wouldn't answer a single question or tell me where we were going, so it didn't matter. i didn't want to talk, unless it was q&a time, anyway.

my foot tapping was getting on his nerves, i could tell.

i looked down at the outfit i was wearing and shook my head, "why don't you have normal clothes for women on the jet?"

he gave me a sideways look, "you're the only normal girl, ever to come on here. you could have stayed in the other outfit. lord knows, all you care about is comfort." his tone was mocking.

i rolled my eyes, "yes, maybe you could have found me a piece of cord to hold the shorts up. look, i don't dress like i'm homeless, all the time."

he coughed, "you aren't exactly a sex kitten either."

i glared, "the other outfit would have suited the house slippers of yours i stole."

he gave me another look, "you make sure those get back to the house. they were a gift from my mother."

i sneered, "you have a problem."

he looked hurt, "what? my mother bought them for me."

i tapped my heel and tried not to look down at the sexy heel, or think about the fact they were spiciest shoes, i'd ever donned. i wished the tight pants were half as comfortable, but they cut into my slight mommy tummy fiercely.

steve looked back at me, "for the love of god and all things holy, stop tapping your damned foot."

i scowled, "no."

servario snorted, "we land in eight minutes, children. shut it."

steve scowled and turned back around.

i wanted to tap louder. my nerves were on fire. i needed to hold my babies.

i distracted myself with a question, i assumed he would actually answer, "why are we always flying? is this really how you live?"

he laughed, "we need to keep moving. i can't afford a mistake right now." and that was it.

i rolled my eyes at him, "fine, be aloof."

we landed and i forced steve and servario to run to the car. well, as fast as my heels would go. the salty smell of the boston harbor made me relax a bit.

i watched out the window as we drove to wherever we were going.

"so you called young cooper and explained we would meet them tomorrow?" he asked distractedly.

i nodded, "i gave them my word, that you meant them no harm and were not working with the military or government; i told them you just wanted the burrow."

he chuckled, "have i ever worked with them? i like nothing better, than to watch them squirm."

my stress levels were too high. i didn't want to listen to him speak, but i needed answers, "where are my children?" i pestered again.

he shook his head, "i'm not in the position to tell you that."

i growled, "no one is ever in the position to tell me anything."

he cocked an eyebrow, "do you know much about your mother, evie?"

i swallowed and looked back out the window.

he laughed, "you do know. i was wondering, when they would let it spill. now that you know, i can tell you, your children are safe. i can also tell you, no one would care for them the way your mother will." his eyes sparkled, "she has kept you alive."

"you know my mother?"

he nodded, "i do."

i felt sick. an arms dealer, who was secretly the master key for the covert op my father had dedicated his life to, knew my family better than i did.

"is my sister safe?"

he chuckled, "never. she is a walking disaster."

what didn't he know?

the car stopped in a neighborhood i didn't recognize. the houses were smaller and older. "this doesn't really look like your type of neighborhood."

he gave me a blank stare, "they're inside, smartass."

i frowned, "how do you do it? how do you know everything?"

he laughed, "i know people, who know things."

"like what?" i crossed my arms and got comfy in the seat.

he shook his head, "go inside and tell them to hurry up. we have ten minutes."

i noticed the darkness of his eyes; they were missing the green altogether.

i unbuckled my seat belt and crawled across the seat to him, climbing onto his lap and straddling him. i lowered my face and licked along his neck to his ear. i bit down on his lobe. he was a sex addict, there was no doubt taunting him would get me information. i ground my pelvis into his and sucked his lobe, "what do you know?" i whispered.

his hands roamed my back, settling on my hips where he gripped me hard. i made my way, kissing and sucking, to his cheek and placed feather-light kisses on either side of his face. "if you tell me what you know, things between us could be different," i muttered and brushed my lips against his.

he was frozen, either terrified or about to attack.

i kissed him once more, "you want me to play along next time, servario? you want me to suck things? bite things?" i leaned to the other side and whispered into his other ear, "stroke things?"

he shifted us both, nestling his erection between my legs better.

i sat back, grinning ear from ear, "maybe you want me to put on a show for you? let you pick the outfit, the shoes, and the toys?" i bit my lip.

he swallowed; the darkness had overtaken his eyes in a dangerous way.

"we'll see," i muttered and opened his door, climbing off of him and walking up to the house.

i winced at the thought of him forcing any of that.

if ever there was a bluff, that was it. i didn't have a show or any sexual talents. i could cum and hold my legs up. james wasn't seeking it elsewhere, because i was too much in the sheets.

i just prayed servario didn't know that yet. the terrible blowjob i'd given him in the shower, might have ruined my chances at seducing him. but i was willing to try. i needed him hard, weak, and under my spell. i just needed to learn how to cast one first.

luce opened the door to the dingy house, looking confused and cautious. "how the hell are you here?" she asked.

i shook my head, "he must have known you took the phone and bugged it. he's onto your every move. he's a savage stalker."

i could hear servario walking up behind me on the gravel driveway, "except fleeing the hotel. i wasn't aware you would actually do any of that, not naked anyway," he said flatly.

i looked back at him and noticed he was walking funny. luce looked down at his groin and nodded, "welcome to casa del dumpo."

we entered and instantly, i was hit with the smell of fried food. servario looked like he might throw up. i felt like i might.

coop came around the corner with a gun out, "what the fuck? you said we were meeting tomorrow."

servario sighed, "yes well, that was for the benefit of the government agents tracking you with those cell phones you buy illegally. please feel free to leave those here. we need to hurry. we have four minutes before they're here. i wanted them to think that we were picking you up tomorrow. they aren't as smart as they think they are."

i looked back, "it was ten minutes."

he shook his head, "that was before your display in the car. let's move."