Tag: suspense

Panic drummed a steady beat inside him, so strong it drowned out his logical mind.

Match wasn’t used to panicking just because someone was shooting at him.

Welcome to his world.

That was his life, but usually he didn’t have the woman he loved and his young son with him. The thought of Maisie or Milo getting hurt rendered him all but useless.

Only he couldn’t afford to be useless. His family was counting on him.

Dodging around a corner he spotted a bunch of parked cars and headed for it. “Stay here, don’t move, keep the boy quiet,” he ordered as he thrust their son into Maisie’s arms.

“Match, are we ever going to be safe again?” Maisie asked, her voice trembled and he loathed himself for getting her into this mess. His sweet woman had been through so much, she deserved flowers and rainbows and sunshine, not death and bullets and danger.

“I will keep you alive, babydoll. Thats a promise.”

Because leaving them behind was harder than he could imagine, Match turned and left immediately. Drawing the shooters with him, he lured them into a trap and was able to take out all of them.

A vehicle was stashed nearby with supplies, all he had to do was get to it, collect his family, and then he could take them to the one place he knew they’d be safe. A place he should have taken them immediately but he’d been selfish-again-and wanted time alone with his woman and his kid.

No more.

From here on out Maisie and Milo came first.

Always.

Every second they weren’t with him was hell. If he wasn’t there he couldn’t protect them. A million what if scenarios ran through his head and by the time he was pulling up beside where he’d stashed them Match was shaking like a leaf.

As he approached Maisie’s pale face peeked out, she had their son crushed against her chest, her body wrapped protectively around him, and Match found his heart swelled at the sight. He had underestimated Maisie and he was ashamed about it. He’d believed she wasn’t strong enough to survive in his world, that letting her go was the right thing. Now he knew she would have stood by him if he’d been honest with her, been a rock he so desperately needed.

“Lets go,” he said as he reached out and took the small bundle of his son. When the boy latched onto him, clinging with his face pressed against Match’s neck, his heart swelled again until his chest felt painfully tight.

These two were his everything.

He was just shoving the boy into the car when Maisie cried out and went down.

Gunfire erupted around them but when he turned to go back for her she stopped him.

“No, Match! Get Milo out of here!”

“Maisie …”

“No! You promised. Get him safe.”

His heart felt torn in two. It wouldn’t take him long to cross the dozen or so yards between where Maisie had gone down and the car, but he could see the shooters quickly approaching, and the child was sobbing in the car.

“You promised. Keep my baby safe, tell him I love him,” Maisie screamed.

Leaving behind the woman he loved more than anything else in the world was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. But he had promised to put their son first, and he knew Maisie would hate him if the child was hurt. So he fulfilled what was very likely going to be her dying wish and threw himself into the vehicle, driving away and leaving his heart bleeding on the pavement behind him.

Trust him?

After he’d just thrown her out of a window?

Maisie would never trust this insane man again, and yet … he’d said he knew what life without her was like and didn’t want to go through it again.

Maybe he shouldn’t throw her out a window to her death then.

The landing came faster than she had been expecting.

Softer too.

And smellier.

Look like he’d thrown her into a dumpster. Great. So he was throwing her away like trash now, and trying to keep her son.

Before she could unload the litany of curses she wanted to rain down on the man who had hurt her worse than everything else she’d been through combined, he dropped into the dumpster beside her.

Unlike her his landing was almost elegant, and he rolled up onto his feet like he’d done it a thousand times before, and shoved a squirming little bundle into her arms.

“Mama, that was the funnest thing ever,” Milo squealed in delight.

Great. So her son was a daredevil like his father. Just what she needed.

Unlike her little boy she was terrified. Drugged, abducted, seeing Match again, now being shot at, she had no idea what was going on or how to protect her son from it.

“Match, who are they? Friends of yours?”

“I’d call them enemies,” he said as he scooped her and Milo into his arms and jumped out of the dumpster, setting her on her feet beside him.

“Why are they here?”

“For you, and the boy. Tried to keep you safe, babydoll, my world is a dangerous one, didn’t want it to taint you, shouldn’t have been selfish and let you get so close. Thought leaving would take the target off your back. I was wrong.”

Maisie’s brow furrowed and she rubbed at her temple as a stress headache took hold. Too much information too quickly, too many truths she’d thought she knew turned on their head, too many confusing emotions.

“They’re going to kill us if they get us?” she asked as he grabbed her hand and began to hustle her down the alley.

“Yeah, babydoll, that and other stuff first.”

Other stuff?

He meant hurting her. And her baby. That was something she couldn’t allow.

Pulling back against Match’s. “If it comes down to it, promise me you’ll protect Milo.”

“I’ll protect you both,” he vowed.

“But if you can’t Milo comes first,” she insisted. Nothing in the world was more important to her than her sweet son. “Promise me, Match. Milo comes first. Always.”

Even in the dark she could see the indecision in his eyes. He wanted to pretend he could do everything, but that didn’t mean he could, and she wouldn’t allow her baby to get hurt.

“The boy comes first,” he reluctantly agreed.

Just in time because the night erupted into gunfire and match took off running, dragging her along with him. Maisie prayed she wasn’t making a mistake going with him, because if she was she and her son would pay the price.

Damn.

His worst fears had just been confirmed.

The only people who knew where he’d taken Maisie and Milo were his team.

That meant he had a mole.

When he found out who he’d make sure they paid for the betrayal and for putting the lives of the two people he loved most in the world in danger.

Now though his focus was on protecting what was his.

His woman. His son. His life.

Match scooped them both into his arms and ran down the corridor. The safe room was out since his team was somehow involved the code was compromised and he didn’t have time to set a new one.

Running for his bedroom he stopped only long enough to grab his go bag and set Maisie on her feet.

The second he pulled Milo from her arms she protested. “No! What are you doing? Are you taking my son and leaving me here for those men as punishment?”

There was no time to console her, still Match leaned in and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Never leaving you behind, babydoll. Know what life’s like without you and don’t intend to go through that again.”

Confused green eyes looked up at him, but he merely through open the window and hefted Maisie into one arm.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Not as far as I could throw you which is not at all.”

Match grinned, this new sassy Maisie was a whole lot of fun. “Then this isn’t going to be fun for you.”

With that he tossed her out the open window then jumped out behind her.

Was there a more infuriating person on the planet?

Maisie believed not.

That Match could say something as ridiculous as she belonged to him and always had was laughable. You didn’t walk away from those you loved and she wasn’t buying his whole martyr routine.

He’d left because he chose to, wanted to, simple as that.

“Don’t believe me, babe?” he asked, cocking his too handsome head to the side.

“Yeah, I totally believe the man I loved who broke my heart, no brainer for sure,” she scoffed.

Instead of getting annoyed a huge grin broke out and he smirked. “See, babe, I knew you loved me.”

“Loved,” she emphasised. “As in past tense not present.”

Something flitted through his eyes but it was gone before she could distinguish it. Still Maisie for the impression that she’d hurt his feelings somehow.

Ridiculous.

This man didn’t have feelings to hurt.

“You’re not leaving, babe, get used to the idea,” he said as he lifted her and set her on the floor beside him. Not before his large hands kneaded her backside making a small moan tumble from her lips and her hips rock subconsciously towards him.

Match smirked again. Knowing her body still reacted to his.

Definitely most annoying person ever.

What he didn’t understand was there was a difference between attraction and love. Maybe she was still attracted to him but his decision to leave as he had destroyed the love she’d once had.

“You can’t keep us prisoner,” she said as she moved around the kitchen, fussing about, needing to do something before she lost her mind.

“Not handing you over to a monster, babydoll.”

“Mama, said there’s no such thing as monsters,” Milo piped up.

“Course there isn’t, sweet pea,” Maisie said quickly before Match could say something completely inappropriate for a four year old.

“What your Mommy means-“

“Don’t interpret for me,” she snapped.

“Don’t go getting your panties all in a twist, all I was going to say was …”

Before he could continue, glass exploded around them as all of a sudden all hell broke loose.

Instead of the gratefulness he expected at his admission that he loved her enough to let her go, and to put himself in more danger by coming back for her and their child, she merely scoffed.

Maisie stared at him, indignantly, not believing the words coming from his mouth.

How dare she.

Match shook her again, irritated now but his new Maisie who wouldn’t bend to his will.

Even though he likely had hurt her she didn’t cry or beg him to let her go, merely hung limply in his hold until he set her on her feet.

As soon as he released her she was off down the hall no doubt searching for their son. It was unfair to blame her for him not knowing she was pregnant when he’d left her with no way to contact him, and he wasn’t really angry with her anymore.

Following after her, he found both his woman and his son in the kitchen. Milo was sitting in a chair at the table basically vibrating with excitement, and Maisie was bustling about, removing the pizza from the oven and pouring Milo a glass of water.

It was all so domestic, so different from anything he had experienced before.

Maisie had done a good job with their boy, and Match felt regret not just for all that he had missed out on but that these two, the closest things he’d ever had to a real family, were in danger because of him.

He was the worst thing to ever happen to either of them.

“Aren’t you going to dish me up a slice?” he asked as he strode towards the table.

The venom in the glare his sweet girl shot him made him smirk. This Maisie was everything. Sassy and strong, with a backbone he couldn’t wait to bend, and a submissive side that hadn’t disappeared despite her new found strength. He knew that because even though she glared at him she automatically moved to get him a plate.

“We’re leaving after dinner,” Maisie said as she dropped a plate down in front of him.

“No, you’re not.” This wasn’t up for debate, he couldn’t protect them if they weren’t here.

“You can’t keep us here. I have work in the morning, and Milo has school,” Maisie threw another adorable glare his way.

“I already called in sick for you, and I told the boy’s school that you were taking him on a vacation.”

“You did what?” Maisie sputtered.

“We’re going on vacation?” Milo asked at the same time.

“No, we’re not,” Maisie told her son making him pout. “Attitude improvement, Milo.”

Immediately the little boy wiped the pout off his face. “Sorry, Mama,” he said then picked up his pizza again.

Snagging a hold on Maisie’s wrist he tugged until he pulled her down onto his lap. She squirmed but all it did was turn him on more, but with their son in the room she couldn’t fight him off because he knew she didn’t want to scare the boy.

“You’re not going anywhere, babe. You’re mine and you know it. Always have been always will be. The boy as well. So get any ideas of leaving our of your pretty blonde head, because I am never letting you go.”