Nico's Heart (RARE Book 1) Read online

  Nico watched Rikki as she stood there in a trance. He was going to give it two more minutes and then try and pull her out, but all of the sudden she shook herself and focused her gaze on him.

  “Let’s go get your little girl, my brother,” she said throwing a fist pump in the air.

  Chapter 12

  Angel was still out when the team showed back up at the plane. As they grabbed their gear, Trace lifted Angel up in his arms and they moved towards the SUV on the side of the hangar that Jaxson had waiting for them. He had contacts everywhere. There wasn’t anything he couldn’t get if he needed it.

  Once they were in the vehicle and on their way, Rikki gave directions to Nico who was driving this time. “A dirt road? Where the hell do they have her?” he growled. Jaxson was looking something up on his phone and he glanced up and said, “Less than half an hour away. Before the dirt road, we need to find a place to stash the SUV and go in on foot. It will be about three miles out, but it is safer that way. Otherwise they might see us coming. Looks like an old farmhouse, probably abandoned.” Nico floored it, praying there were no cops around that he would have to deal with. At least the roads had been cleared of all the snow that had been dumped recently.

  When they were close, Nico backed the SUV off the road and into a clump of trees, praying they didn’t get stuck in the snow. They would have to worry about that later, though. Right now all that mattered was getting to Lily. As the team geared up, Nico woke up Angel. She sat up, shook the cobwebs out of her head, and geared up with the rest of them.

  Angel loved her throwing stars. She put them in the side zippers on her pants and a couple up her sleeves and in her coat pockets.

  Phoenix liked anything that went boom. He shoved some grenades in his pockets, and put some other goodies in a backpack that would make the place explode when they were done.

  Rikki was partial to her knives. She had a special set that the team had made for her. She strapped them to the chest harness she put on, two handles up and two down.

  Trace’s baby was his sniper rifle, but he loved all kinds of guns. He strapped on a Glock to go with the knives and two guns he already had on him.

  Nico and Jaxson didn’t really have any favorites. They liked it all. Anything that helped kick ass was alright with them.

  They all put on some night vision goggles and took off towards the old farm house as quickly as possible through the snow. They trained daily for shit like this and could run for miles at this pace. Which was good, because they estimated the old farm house was about three and a half miles away.

  When they were about a half a mile out, the team slowed up and stopped. Ok, let’s get a little bit closer so we can get the layout of the place, Angel ordered. They crept up and fanned out around the house.

  One guy inside, Angel said. It’s that sick bastard, Jasper. We will take him out. Two guys on the South side and two on the North. That’s it. They really think they are safe and no one is going to find them out here. Let’s prove them wrong. Trace, get on the south side and take out those guards. Rikki, you go to the North side and take out the others. Let us know as soon as it’s done. Then you stand guard out here, while Nico, Jaxson and I go in. Phoenix, set the place to blow while we get Lily out. Let’s do this. In and out. Now!

  Trace took off in one direction while Rikki went in the other. There was complete silence for a full two minutes and then Rikki said, Clear! Five seconds later, Trace said the same. Quickly, Nico and Angel moved up towards the front of the house while Jaxson moved around to the back. I see a window open back here. No wires. I’m going in, Jaxson said. Nico finished picking the lock on the door and eased it open silently. We’re in, he said.

  Jasper was watching TV in the living room. He’s yours, Jaxson, Angel said. Nico stopped. Jaxson’s? That bastard was his! Lily needs you, Nico. We need to get to her.

  I will do this for you, Nico, Jaxson promised him. I will take him out painfully and not too quickly. Nico growled lowly, and then he nodded towards Jaxson. He watched while Jaxson crept into the living room and slipped out a couple of knives. He watched the first slice into the sick bastard and then turned and took off to find the stairs that would take him to his Lily.

  Lily heard the screams up above and huddled in a ball in the corner of the room shaking. Suddenly, she heard a noise at her door. There was a loud bang, and then the door slowly opened. As the light shone in on her, she watched the figure of the person that filled the doorway. He opened the door wider and then knelt down. “Lily, come here sweet girl. Come here, my princess. Let’s get you home to Mommy.”

  As her vision adjusted to the light, she saw him for the first time in person. He looked so strong and fierce. It was her daddy. He was alive and real and he had come for her. She tried to jump up to go to him, but her legs didn’t want to work right. So she started crawling. “Daddy, it’s really you. You came for me,” she cried, sobs racking her body.

  He stood up when he saw her crawling, running to her and pulling her off the ground and into his arms. “I’m right here, my little princess. I’ve got you,” he crooned as he snuggled her close.

  “Let’s go, Nico,” Lily heard a voice say. “We need to get out of here now.”

  “Angel,” she said. “You came, too. Just like you said you would.”

  “You better believe it, sweetheart,” Angel said. “Now, let’s blow this popsicle stand!” Lily let out a small giggle as they took off across the room and up the stairs.

  Jaxson met them at the top of the stairs and said, “It’s done. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  They heard the first explosion as they hit the tree line a mile away from the house. Nico pushed Lily’s head into his chest and ran as fast as he could to where they had left the SUV. Once the team all made it back to the vehicle, they piled in and took off back toward the airport, Jaxson driving this time.

  Once there, they didn’t waste any time getting back up into the air and on their way back to Colorado. Nico held Lily on his lap as she snuggled Shadow and her special blanket. She was now dressed in clean pink fuzzy feety jammies and she would not leave his side, no matter what. That was ok, though. His team would pick up his slack because he was family, and Lily was his little girl now. That made her family.

  Chapter 13

  As the plane pulled up to their hangar at Denver International, Nico looked at Angel and asked, “What now, boss?” Someone was still out there trying to get his family. A family that he had just found out about, one he still needed to spend time with and get to know. He could not do that while he was worrying about who was going to try and get to them next.

  “Let’s get you and Lily back to Jenna right now. You stay with them at the compound while we all go home and rest. We will be back tomorrow to figure out our next move. I will make sure Chase has enforcers he personally trusts guarding you and yours. Honestly though, I think we are going to have to go hunting, Nico. They aren’t going to leave your family alone unless we take them out,” Angel said.

  “True that,” Rikki said. “We aren’t going to let anyone hurt your family, Nico. So we hunt them down and take out the threat.”

  As everyone agreed, Nico nodded. “Agreed, let’s get back to the compound and rest, but tomorrow we plan. We plan, then we hunt, then we strike.”

  They all piled into the waiting vehicle, Lily still snuggled in Nico’s lap. In less than 40 minutes he would have both Lily and Jenna with him.

  Angel was talking to Chase on her cell phone, making plans to have his enforcers guard Nico and his family for the rest of the day and night. He could tell she was exhausted as she hung up the phone. She was a couple of days without much sleep right now, plus she had used her abilities a lot. But she wasn’t done yet. Angel would push herself until she knew that her family was safe. Then she would crash.

  When they pulled up to the compound, Angel didn’t even stop at the gate. She smiled and waved at the guards and just kept driving. As they stopped at the same building
they had went to before, the door was flung open and Jenna ran out and down the stairs to the SUV. Nico stepped out of the vehicle and Jenna pulled Lily from him. His arms felt empty until Jenna leaned into them holding Lily to her. He wrapped them both up in his arms and buried his face in Jenna’s neck inhaling. His mate. He was home.

  Chapter 14

  As Angel watched Nico with his family, she felt Chase stop beside her. She was exhausted, but the minute he stepped up next to her, her body ignited. Oh shit. She had to get this under control. Everyone around them would be able to smell her lust. Chase growled low in his throat.

  “Knock it off, Chase,” Angel said. “Just stop. I can’t do this right now.”

  “I’m not doing anything, baby,” he growled. “But if you don’t control your own hormones, I will be doing you in the back of that fucking SUV.”

  Angel closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm down. This could not be happening right now. She knew what Chase was to her, but she just couldn’t deal with it. She did not want a mate. Not now. Not ever. She had too many personal problems, too many ghosts, too many enemies. She didn’t wish that on anyone. She moved towards Nico and said, “Hey, Nico, I’m heading out. I need to get some sleep. We will all meet back here tomorrow at 10am to discuss our next step.”

  She turned back to Chase, “I will meet with you at 9:30 to give you a run down on what happened on the op.” With that she turned and hopped into the SUV, her team all piling in behind her. She had to get out of there and fast.

  Nico pulled back from Jenna, and looked up at Chase. “Angel said you will have someone guarding us at all times. The General is still out there. Until he is caught, I want 24 hour surveillance on Jenna and Lily. And I want the best.”

  Chase nodded. “When Angel called I got a hold of the council and they are sending Storm and Ryker back down. They should be here within a couple of hours. Until they get here, Bran and my head enforcer, Slade, will be right outside your door.”

  “I want Aiden and Xavier, too,” Nico said. Chase looked at him in surprise. “They screwed up once, they won’t do it again,” Nico said. “I want them.”

  “Ok,” Chase said. He walked over and gently hugged Jenna and Lily. “Hey honey, I am so glad you’re home,” he whispered. “So glad.” Lily looked up at him solemnly. “It’s ok, Uncle Chase. I’m safe now. Daddy and Angel killed the bad guys.”

  With tears in his eyes, Chase gave her a tight hug and whispered, “Yes honey, it is going to be just fine now. You are going to be safe.” He would make sure of it. No one messed with his family and got away with it. And it didn’t look like his tough as nails mate was going to just let it slide either. Chase gave Lily a soft kiss, the he turned and headed back into the building to his office. He needed to speak to Aiden and Xavier to let them know that they were being added to Jenna and Lily’s security detail. They were good enforcers. Nico was right, they would not screw up again.

  Chapter 15

  Nico followed Jenna to her home, his gaze straying to her ass as she walked. Check the fence, check the buildings, check the grounds, check Jenna’s ass. Now that Lily was home, and safe in the compound, all he could think about was taking his mate and marking her as his for everyone to see. As she glanced back at him and caught his eyes straying down once again, her eyes heated up. “We need to get Lily fed, bathed and in bed,” she said. Nico nodded, his gaze hot on hers.

  They moved up the sidewalk of a small cottage style house that was light green in color with white trim. “A lot of the pack live in apartments in the buildings by the offices. I wanted a real home for Lily,” Jenna said. “We plant flowers in the window sills and around the house together. She really enjoys it. It’s a little cold this April still, so we were going to start planting them in May.”

  “And momma mows the grass,” Lily said on a yawn. Even though she had slept quite a bit, the trauma she had been through had her exhausted. “I’m not big enough yet, but someday I will be.”

  As they entered the house, Nico told Jenna to take Lily and get her bathed. He would fix her something to eat quick. In the kitchen he cooked up some hamburger meat and mixed it with some macaroni and cheese, adding some Velveeta to make it creamier. When Jenna came into the kitchen with a warm, clean Lily, it was obvious she was not going to last long.

  Nico sat down on a chair and reached his arms out for Lily. He held her while she ate her dinner, just snuggling her and breathing in her clean, fresh scent. When she was done, Nico followed Jenna to Lily’s room. He placed Lily on her bed, covering her up with her soft pink blankets. Lily snuggled Shadow and her blanky close and looked up at Nico.

  “Promise you will be here when I wake up,” Lily demanded. “You better believe it, princess,” he said. “I will be right here waiting for you.” As she clutched his hand, scared to let go, he started to sing to her. He had a beautiful voice, and she was out within minutes.

  Jenna bent down and kissed Lily on the cheek, then glanced over at Nico. He wanted her, and he was done waiting. He stood up and followed Jenna out of the room and into her bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

  “I need to know, Jenna,” he said as he stood there, his hands clenched in fists, “Are you ok with this after what happened? Are you scared? I would never hurt you.” Jenna walked up to him and put a hand on his chest, looking up into his eyes. “I want this, Nico. I want you. I haven’t been with anyone since that night, but you’re different. You’re my mate. I feel safe with you.”

  He reached out and gently trailed the back of his hand down her cheek. “I will never hurt you, Jenna. Never. You are my mate. Mates are to be cherished and cared for above all else. Never hurt.”

  Slowly he lowered his head and skimmed her lips with his. Once, twice, and then he traced them with his tongue. A low growl ripped from his throat and he gripped her by her hips, swinging her around and shoving her up against the wall. “I want to go slow with you, Jenna. I want to, but I don’t know if I can. I need you now.” As he thrust his tongue into her mouth again and again, he ground his hard length into her.

  “Oh God,” she cried out. “Don’t stop, Nico. I don’t need slow. Fuck me, now.” He lost it. He ripped her shirt from her and sliced open her bra with a claw. Panting he looked at her breasts, his eyes going full wolf. “Mine,” he growled. “Mine!” Her pants were shredded off her body and his quickly followed.

  “Off,” she said, tearing at his shirt. He yanked it off up over his head and then grabbed her, picking her back up and shoving her against the wall. As his mouth closed around one of her nipples sucking it deeply, she cried out and rubbed herself up and down his length. She was so hot, so wet. And it was all for him.

  He leaned back and looked into her eyes as he shoved inside her. Her eyes closed and she let out a deep moan as she slammed her head back against the wall. Nico moved inside her, going harder and faster. Then, as he felt her body clench around him, he buried his teeth into her shoulder, marking her as his, and let himself come inside of her. He felt the sharp sting of her fangs and then pure bliss as she returned his bite on his shoulder.

  Slowly Nico lowered Jenna to the floor as he licked at the mate bite, healing it. He shivered as he felt her doing the same. He picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. Giving her a soft kiss, he let her feet slide to the ground and moved over to turn on the shower. He would clean them up and then they would get some rest. They still had a long ways to go to end this nightmare they had been pulled into, and as much as Nico wanted to forget about everything but Jenna, he had a duty as her mate to keep both her and Lily safe.

  Chapter 16

  The team all left and went to their own homes as soon as they got to Angel’s house. They needed sleep, and Angel needed her space.

  First things first, she headed to the back bedroom and opened up the huge safe, storing all of her gear. Once she was done she headed towards the kitchen.

  She grabbed a bottle of wine that she had opened the day before but had never h
ad any of, along with a wine glass. Yeah, she could be classy when she wanted to.

  As she walked into her bedroom she stripped on her way to the bathroom leaving a trail of clothes behind her. Whatever, she would get them later. Right now she needed a nice long bubble bath. She loved the large, deep bathtub in her bathroom. It was one of the reasons she had bought the house. She had always wanted one so that she could light candles around it, have some wine and relax. And after a long mission, nothing was better.

  Angel started the water making it as hot as she could stand it. She added some bubbles to it, then went over and turned on the radio that was on the small hutch across the room. Country music soothed her, too. She loved it. None of that boring classical crap for her, although she did love some good ole rock n roll at times, too.

  There were candles set around the bathroom. Angel lit them all and shut off the lights. Swiftly she pinned her long, blonde hair up into a messy bun, and then stepped into the tub. She let out a low moan as she slid into the hot, steamy water. It felt so good.

  Angel shut off the water and leaned back closing her eyes. Immediately her thoughts went to Chase. No, hell no. She tried to think of something else. Anything else. But it didn’t work. Even after draining the bottle of wine, she could only think of Chase. Finally Angel gave up and got out of the tub. So much for relaxing.

  Two hours later she was still wide awake. She had been in bed for two fucking hours and still could not sleep. Part of the reason was because of the huge adrenaline rush they’d all had going in after Lily. Part was the fact that it was 3:00 in the afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. But most of it was the hot, sexy alpha that was only 40 minutes away. Her body was on fire just thinking about him. Well, she might not be able to be with him, but she could at least take care of one of her issues so she could sleep right now.