Word of Honor, Book 2 by Tiana Laveen Page A

out.
    “Well then, why are you still talking to me, huh? Why don’t you just come on over here ’nd take it?”
    His eyes narrowed on her. Gripping her by her tiny waist, he tossed her on her damn stomach then reached forward so fast his arm was a blur as he forced a pillow under her gut…
    Cocked, locked and ready…
    “Fuuuuuck!”

    “ I WISH I could shake this bad feeling.”
    Dr. Owens gripped his short glass of brandy and sloshed the rich, dark liquor about. He indolently gazed at the large ivory and ebony clock in his den, then back at the fire leaping in the grate before him. The flames crackled and snapped, a tiny orange and golden Hell giving off a comforting heat. He looked at his drink as he turned the tumbler slowly about in his hand, making liquid circles and sinking in the shallow depth yet mounting thoughts. He’d taken a few measly sips, but they did little to calm his shaken and rattled nerves. It was nearly three in the morning, and his phone hadn’t rung. Aaron had not made a call to him, nor sent a text from the loaner cell phone he’d provided. He should have been happy about such a thing, but then his imagination began to run wilder than a pack of wolves out on the hunt for a galloping deer.
    Paranoia must be contagious, for I’ve caught Aaron’s illness…
    He placed his drink upon a wooden coaster and tried to simmer down, find something more useful to mull over and conceptually dissect, but it was no use. Soon, he was on his feet, his cell phone in hand.
    Damn it!
    Earlier, he’d tried to call the apartment, but there was no answer and when he’d called Limestone, they’d stated that the couple appeared to have had a disagreement earlier in the evening based on the raised voices coming from the place; however, that only lasted a short while. No one heard anything except the music that had been playing for hours. They guards eagerly offered to enter the dwelling, but he insisted that they keep their posts and not go inside just as he had instructed before his departure. No personnel was permitted to go inside unless there was clear evidence of a physical struggle, for disruption could unsettle any progress made.
    Things were stuck in the unknown, and unknown was the wrong place to be when it came to a certain Mr. Aaron Joshua Pike.
    Aaron’s previous words began to haunt him… to dare him not to consider dire possibilities at such a pivotal time.
    ‘How do you know I won’t hurt her?’
    The words rang out in his head, on repeat, filling him with trepidation. Coming to a decision, he set the glass down, slid on his flimsy beige raincoat and raced out of there, locking his front door. He ran to his car, his keys jangling in his trembling hand. A sprinkling of rain had begun, perfuming the air with something sweet under the dark sky. As he journeyed down the street, he couldn’t stop swallowing his own breath. It was unlike him to be edgy about therapies he’d administered, but Aaron was a special case and perhaps he’d taken the man’s emotional state in far too lax a manner.
    He’s got a lot to lose…
    His power, his position means everything to him.
    He is quite upset with Mia; that has not changed despite his love for her, and this sort of deception to him is a big deal.
    He may have felt a bit forced into this after all… or perhaps, he simply went along with it so that he could get his hands on her!
    “Damn it! What have I done?!” He smacked his steering wheel with force as he continued to drive ahead. Forty-two minutes and almost one speeding ticket later, he arrived at Limestone. The place was outfitted with the tightest of security, and so the checks and balances began. He rolled his window down, the rain now pouring much harder than before as two guards stood before him holding up black umbrellas that shielded their heads but not their scowls as the rain played a mean percussion upon the place.
    “Yes!” He called out over the noise as he put his car in park, held