Serial Story 2015

SNOWBOUND

MRW Serial Story

1st Installment – Nina Pierce

Tara McKay pushed through the knee-high drifts, her hands and face having hours before gone numb in the freezing winds of January. The salesclerk at the boutique in Virginia, where she’d purchased the mid-calf suede boots, with their coordinating gloves, scarf and hat set, had said they looked adorable with her plaid peacoat. How could a California girl know they would be no match against the blinding snow and glacial temperatures of the backwoods where she found herself?

This God-forsaken barren land was not at all what Tara thought she’d find when she stepped on the plane at Dulles this morning, heading for a quaint village up north. No one at the main office of Genodine Pharmaceuticals had told her Maine had its own definition of rural. She could only hope this open swath of new snow between the towering pines on her right and the rocky incline to her left was a road—the road that was supposed to bring her directly to her contact.

Had time and desperation not been weighing heavy on her conscience, she would have called Sean and told him to screw this mission when she’d seen the first fluffy flakes of snow float to the ground at the Portland jetport. She’d thought them pretty, their fat crystals coating the limbs of the trees and swirling gracefully on the road in front of her. By the time the rental had hit Augusta, she was cursing the unrelenting snowflakes as tractor trailers barreled past her, throwing a whitewash of snow in her path. Relief had flooded over her when she’d found her exit and pulled off the highway in Bangor, barely able to see the brake lights of the cars in front of her. She cursed herself for not riding out the blizzard in one of the rundown motels she’d seen as the lights of the city had faded behind her.

But then, it never occurred to Tara that there were actually places in the US without neighborhoods and cell service. She’d seen the last vestiges of civilization over three hours ago when she’d passed a rundown farmhouse just before making her last turn onto the unplowed road, bravely trusting the last coordinates the GPS had spit out before losing signal.

Tara had abandoned the all-terrain Subaru miles back, when it sputtered its last complaint with a loud bang and a shudder, no longer able to plow through the accumulating snow.

Now, as she looked up into the darkening sky, trying to determine how much time she had before sunset, Tara questioned the sanity of that decision. If she didn’t get somewhere dry and warm soon before dark, there would be no meeting. With the way her body trembled, she wondered if she’d even make it back to headquarters to ring Sean’s neck.

No doubt, her boss was walking on that damn treadmill desk of his, looking out over the sunny Washington DC skyline, not giving the storm in Maine a second thought. The weather channel had said this squall would deliver inches of icy mix, not the three feet of blinding snow she was currently slogging through.

She should have known better than to trust the media. They delivered nothing but lies, hidden in misleading headlines, and wrapped up neatly with Photoshopped pictures. She’d learned that lesson a decade ago as a freckled-faced teenager on the shores of Malibu, staring blindly at her parents’ empty sailboat bobbing on the tranquil ocean. Despite what the tabloids claimed, her parents hadn’t stolen formulas from Genodine Pharmaceuticals. They wouldn’t start a pandemic. And they sure as hell hadn’t abandoned their only daughter —not willingly anyway.

Tara prayed this mysterious man, who’d sent encrypted emails directly to her private line at headquarters insisting on this meet and greet in the middle of the wilderness, actually had the cure—and some answers.

2nd Installment – Rose Morris

A shiver ripped through her and drew her back to her trembling body.  The temptation to turn around and got back to her vehicle was almost too much. She wasn’t sure how far she had come but she did know it was too late to go back. She blinked snowflakes out of her eyes and wrapped her arms tighter around her body.

She had never been so frozen in her life. When she got out of here, she promised herself that she would fly back to California and spend a week soaking in the hot sun or maybe someplace in the Caribbean. She vowed she was never coming to this hell of a state again. Never again.

The darkness grew around her and another shiver ripped through her. She was too cold. She wanted to stop but she knew she had to keep moving. Thank God for her thrice weekly pilates class. It had strengthened her body to endure this hell she was trudging through. She tried to hurry up her steps but the snow on the ground was too thick and she kept stepping through it. Her suede boots were beginning to fail her or her feet were sweating. All she knew was her feet were wet and were starting to feel like a blocks of ice. She felt as if any heat she might have left was leaking from her body.

When her teeth started to chatter, she saw her first ray of hope in the darkness around her. She saw a flicker of light in the distance. Oh my God. A light. With light comes heat, electricity, rescue! She rushed towards it to only to trip over her frozen feet. She ended up face down in the snow, her breath knocked out of her. The temptation to stay there filled her but her mission was much too important to give into that want. There were answers in that cabin she needed. Through sheer determination, she climbed to her feet and forced herself to move forward.

Once step after another, she came closer to what was a medium sized cabin until she finally reached what she assumed was the front door. She tried to raise her arm to knock but it wouldn’t move. With the last of her energy, she kicked the door before slumping against it with a thud as her head knocked against the hard wood.

Morgan Reid looked up from the file he was scanning when he heard something bang against his door. His Rottweiler apparently heard it as well for the dog raced toward the door and processed to bark at it. Morgan pushed back his chair and made his way across the wood stove heated room and opened the door.

A woman fell into the room. Surprised, Morgan barely managed to catch her before she hit the floor. Picking her up, he slammed the door shut against the storm. He looked down at her unconscious face and knew it was Tara McKay.

Damn foolish woman.

Whatever possessed her to make her way to him in this blizzard? Didn’t she have enough sense to wait it out in one of the many hotels she passed between Portland to here?

He shook his head. He had more pressing issues to worry about, feeling the iciness of her body and the shivers that racked through her.  If he was still on the grid, he was fill a tub with warm, then hot water to revive her but he went off grid a couple years ago. There was only one way, without modern conveniences, to get the warmth she needed back in her body.

Morgan carried her into the bedroom and quickly stripped her of all her clothes before placing her between his flannel sheets. He pulled the sheets up to her neck as well as the thick down comforter. He ordered Killer up onto the bed to lay next to her before he went through his cabin to turn down all his lanterns and restocked the wood stove. Returning to the bedroom, he removed all his clothes and climbed under the sheets next to her. He pulled her into his arms, wrapped himself as completely around her as he could and held her shivering body against his. Grimacing against the coldness of her body, he listened to her breathing until he fell asleep as her shivering slowed and heat begun to seep back into her body.

3rd  Installment – Michelle Libby

Her dream was so warm and snuggly. She was glad that the storm had just been a bad dream, a realistic bad dream. She shivered remembering her feet being so cold.

She attempting to stretch by moving her arms over her head, but she couldn’t, she was trapped under the blankets on both sides of her. Her eyes flew open and she glanced around at her surroundings. She tried to struggle free, but couldn’t. The thing on her right let out a half snore, half snort. The thing on her left was poking her hip with something hard – a gun? “You’re awake,” a male voice mumbled close to her ear.

She struggled through the haze in her head. Had she hit it? She couldn’t remember. Her brain slammed against her skull.

“Am I naked?” She shimmied in the cocoon, feeling the silky sheets caress her skin.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“You were freezing.”

“Are you naked, too?”
“Yup.”

She sucked in a breath and screamed.

Loud.

The object to her left side kicked her side and started barking. Fear grabbed at her heart and squeezed. She screamed again.

A large, warm hand clapped over her mouth cutting off her breath. She was going to die if she didn’t get away from here. Freezing or not freezing, she had to get out of here.

Now that she was free from the cocoon on one side, she rolled away from the naked man. Trying to take the covers with her, she didn’t realize he had separated them by the sheet and his weight on top of it held it firmly in place. Seconds later she found herself standing on the side of the bed, a dog staring up at her, completely naked.

4th  Installment – Judi Phillips

Tara frantically scanned the room for her clothes.  Not seeing them, she snatched the comforter off the bed and wrapped it around her.  The dog hadn't barked or snarled, so she figured there was no immediate threat from him.  She turned to the guy sprawled on the bed barely covered by the sheet.  "Who the hell are you?"

"Morgan Reid.  What the hell are you doing running around in a blizzard?"

She clamped her fists even more tightly on the comforter, squishing the filler.  That way, she wouldn't scratch his eyes out.  She needed him, needed his warm cabin, needed his information.  "Silly me.  I believed the weatherman.  He predicted just flurries."

He snorted, wrapped the sheet around him and stood.  "Just goes to show.  Technology isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Tara backed up a step, nearly tripping over the fabric around her feet.

*  *  *

Morgan settled on the edge of the bed.  No sense scaring her.  She'd already had a tough enough time.  "Easy.  Let's get dressed, stoke the fire and have some coffee.  Then we can talk."

She nodded, turned and exited the bedroom, the down comforter trailing behind her.

"I'll slip on some clothes and be right out.  Then you can dress in here."  No sense spending time hoping for a glimpse of her hidden curves.  He quickly exchanged the sheet for jeans and a sweatshirt, then joined her.  "Your stuff is still wet.  I laid out some of my sweats for you."

She eyed him up and down, then grinned.  "Might be a tad large, but better than what I have now."

Relieved she seemed to have a sense of humor, he added wood to the stove while she dressed.

Back in the living room, she sauntered into the kitchen and pointed.  "I don't think I've ever seen snow stick to a window like that."

He walked closer and tried to peer out.  "That's not just snow on the glass.  That's a snowdrift.  Looks like we're snowbound."

5th Installment – Luanna Nau

Tara looked at the window again. “Until the snow-plow comes, right?”

The chuckle at her back sent shivers along her skin. Not like the shivers of the previous evening. These shivers were from the tall, dark, and yummy man standing so close she could feel his heat, smell his toothpaste, and sense a tingle of awareness.

“Darlin’, there won’t be a snow-plow. Not until I can get out to my truck and hope it starts.” He moved away, taking his warmth with him. “The good news is I have close to two cords of wood in the shed and a fully stocked pantry. You want some coffee?”

“What—yes, coffee. You mean we’re stuck here?”

He grinned. She felt it all the way to her toes. No wonder he was the golden boy of the pharmaceutical world. He could cure just about anything with that smile.

He finished filling the old fashioned coffee pot and handed it to her. “Put this on the stove and take a seat. I’ll bring in more wood.” He pulled on boots and a heavy coat, opened a door at the rear of the cabin, and disappeared.

Holy crap on a stick. She was stuck in a cabin, in the middle of nowhere, in a freaking blizzard, with a gorgeous man.

A man with the answers she needed. She had to forget that he was cute enough to set off her biological clock alarm.

She found her purse slash briefcase next to the door and carried it to the stove. The coffee pot was just starting to gurgle. Heck, her electric espresso machine would have spat out a cup of coffee by now. She would never again take modern conveniences for granted.

The contents of her bag were just a bit damp, so she spread the files on the floor to let them dry. Luckily her cell phone hadn’t gotten wet. But there was still no service. How the heck did Morgan survive without cell? Or internet.

The door opened, and she could see it led, not to the outdoors, but to a shed filled to the rafters with neatly stacked firewood. “This should keep us warm for a few hours. Mm…coffee smells good.” He dumped a pile of wood in the box next to the stove and shrugged out of his jacket. “How do you take yours?”

“Well, normally with a bit of cream, but—” She glanced around the room. No fridge. Which meant no cream for her coffee. And no ice for her scotch. If she had scotch. Man, she wanted a shot of something strong right now.

“All I’ve got is the powdered stuff, that okay?”

She suppressed a grimace. Beggars couldn’t be choosers. “Absolutely.” She opened one of her folders. “Do you happen to have copies of the faxes you got from my father?”

***

Morgan paused with a spoon in his hand.

Damn, this woman just wouldn’t give up.

“Are you hungry?” He pulled a loaf of bread from the breadbox and rummaged through the cupboard for the jar of Nutella. Women liked chocolate, right?

“I don’t eat breakfast.”

“Well, I always eat breakfast before I work.”

“So—about those faxes?”

Hell, she couldn’t take a hint. He glanced at the wooden trunk he used as a filing cabinet and hoped like hell she didn’t snoop in there.

                                          

6th Installment – Linda Cousens

       Morgan eyed the file laying on top of the trunk just where he’d tossed it. Why hadn’t he thought to tuck it away before he opened the door to let her frozen self in? He cleared his throat - this woman was like any other – especially his ex – too damn distracting.

      “Well?” She gave her folder a little shake in his direction.

        Distracting and bossy.

       And, even dressed in his oversized sweats, she was…he took a mental cold shower as he plunked down the plate with her Nutella sandwich…Way, way too distracting.

      “We have plenty of time. I’d like to start at the beginning if you don’t mind.” He needed to take charge. He’d been the one to contact her first after all. Info she might provide could shed light on…

      “Okay. Shoot.”

       She got right to the point. He liked that. He also liked the way her chin lifted with just a hint of a tremor as she stared up at him. It must be difficult having her parents disappear like that. And with those disturbing allegations.

      All the more reason why he couldn’t let her see what was in his file.

      Hyperthermia he could deal with. But a woman in tears – NO WAY. What was it his ex-wife, thanks to her pricey therapist, had labelled him?  Emotionally unavailable. Yeah. Whatever the hell that meant. By the time he’d stopped burying himself in work to realize he better take her seriously, she’d gone.  And work had become his life. Top secret work – all the better that Genodine Pharmaceuticals had requested he do it in seclusion.

      A wilderness cabin suited him just fine. Never even lonely. And that aching twist in the pit of his stomach when he’d woke up beside Tara this morning, fighting to resist the urge to wrap his arms around her? Lust. Pure and simple.

      “Sure.” When I’m ready.  “First read me what you’ve got there…” He took a long sip of his coffee, inching his way backwards towards the file. All he needed to do was get her to look down at her folder, then he’d slip his inside the trunk. Almost within reach.

      “Well it’s…”

      “Woof.” Killer bounded to the door and trained his eyes on Morgan. “Woof. Woof”. Not now. You can hold it. But the dog whined and held his ground. A no-win situation. Damn.

      “Your dog needs to go out.”

      “Excuse me for a minute.”

       He crossed to the door and pushed it open. Tiny crystals of ice whipped at his face. Man, that wind was pelting. He shivered. “Make it quick, Killer.” Poor dog. He pulled the door to him, keeping an eye out to open it the second the dog returned. Which didn’t take long.

      Good. Now back to business.

      Morgan yanked the door shut, brushed the snow off his sleeves, and turned around.

      “What does this mean?”       

      Tara stood there, hands shaking, as she held out his file. Her eyes brimmed over with tears.

7th Installment-Emily Allen

The minute Morgan turned his back; Tara jumped up and moved towards the trunk. Morgan had been trying to inch his way towards the trunk, hoping she wouldn’t notice.  Well she did, thanks to her investigative skills and now it was time to see what he tried to hide. Squatting down she found an open file.  With a quick look over her shoulder, she found Morgan was still outside. So she got down to business and quickly skimmed the file.   

Over and over again the phrases clean up this mess or take care of the problem any way you can came up in emails from Genodine Pharmaceuticals and someone named Balthazar Nightshade.   But it was the last line that had Tara covering her mouth to stop the scream that wanted to escape. Did Sean send me out to this God forsaken place knowing the truth or had he been kept in the dark?  She was still staring at that last page, when the door creaked open.  She closed the file, stood up and turned to meet his gaze.  “What does this mean?”

“Damn.”

8th Installment-Emily Allen

“Damn, damn, damn it.” Morgan growled looking at the sheet of paper Tart held up to his face.

“Would you like to explain this?”

Morgan stares at the sheet of paper and can’t believe the shit his life has become. Why couldn’t Sean have had the balls to take care of this mess, instead of sending this gorgeous woman out in the middle of a Maine blizzard?

“Well are you going to say something or just stand there like a deer caught in head lights?”

“How about we have a drink?” Without waiting for an answer, he walked over to a cabinet, pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels, two glasses and then poured 3 fingers in each glass.

“I don’t want a damn drink. I want to know what this means.” She again holds out the sheet of paper.

“You’re probably going to need this.” He held out the glass and when Tara took it, he took a seat in the chair. “You might want to sit down. It’s a long story.”

9th Installment – Nina Pierce

“Shit” The word slipped out long and slow as Morgan plowed his fingers through his hair. There was no mistaking the shimmer of emotion in Tara’s eyes.  “Really, you need to sit and let me explain. It’s not what it looks like.” This was so not how he saw this meeting going.

“No! I don’t need to sit down. I need to know why you’re working with Balthazar Nightshade.” She shook the file at him as a tear ran down her cheek. “That man has done nothing but dance on my parents’ graves accusing them of unimaginable atrocities. And you’re working with him? I never would have—”

In the blink of an eye, he grabbed Tara, pulled her into his arms and pressed his mouth to hers, surprise and confusion pushing away the anger in her eyes. He had only a moment to savor the warm, wet taste of her and fill his nose with her scent, before the pain of the slap to his cheek shook him out of his lusty thoughts.

“What the hell?” Tara yelled.

Stepping back, he put his hand to his cheek and laughed. Morgan totally shouldn’t have, but the woman in front of him had morphed from hurt and disbelief to indignation in five seconds flat. This he could handle. Three years of living with an angry woman had given him plenty of practice talking himself out of corners. “Just trying to change your perspective.” He grabbed his mug and went to the pot for a refill. “I think it worked.”

“What are you playing at, Reid? You convinced my boss that I needed to come up here in the middle of God-forsaken-nowhere to confirm that my parents stole trade secrets? Thanks, but I didn’t need to risk my life to hear the same thing I’ve heard my whole life.” She began to pace. He was pleased to see color return to her face, even if it was only outrage painting her cheeks a rosy red. “Nightshade has done nothing but dog me my whole career at Genodine and nothing but the support of Sean and my team has kept me moving forward to continue my parents’ research while I look for answers about their disappearance.”

He leaned against the shelf, crossing his bare feet at the ankles, and sipped his coffee. Killer whined and sat close to him, not sure what to make of the woman stomping around their home. Morgan patted his head and shot him an understanding look. No sense trying to reason with a woman in this state. He’d let Tara sputter until she’d burned through her rant and cooled her anger. He had nothing but time. Besides, even in the baggy sweats he could enjoy the sway of her hips as she paced around the small cabin. She went on and on for several of minutes.

“Well…” She’d stopped in the middle of the living room, her hands fisted on her hips and her chin lifted. “…do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Did you hear a word I said?”

“Every syllable.” He took a long gulp of coffee, buying some time, trying to replay her last few sentences in his head. “Nightshade. Genodine. False accusations.” He only guessed that’s where she’d been going with her tirade. He’d been pretty lost in admiring her ass.

“Do you have an explanation for why I’m here and why you’re ass isn’t down in DC at headquarters talking to Sean? It’s obvious you’re working with Nightshade to get me fired.”

“On the contrary…” He turned, rinsed his cup and set it on the sideboard with slow deliberation. “I’ve been working to prove your parents’ innocence.”

“But Nightshade—”

He scratched behind Killer’s ears, reassuring the dog, before turning back to her. “Nightshade is buried in this whole conspiracy theory up to his bald head. I’ve been working with him over the last year, not to bring you down, but to garner his trust and figure out what he had to do with your parents’ disappearance.” He walked back over to her, not sure her shaky knees would continue to hold her.

“Everyone believes my parents stole the virus to sell as a bio-weapon and were killed by the buyer.”

He stepped to her, cupped her face in his hands and tilted her chin so she would look at him and see his words were genuine. “What do you think?”

“They would never…” Tara swallowed hard.

“Never sell out or never leave you?”

“They wouldn’t do either.” Her voice came out as a breathy whisper.

“That’s what I think too. I brought you here so we could formalize a plan to prove their innocence and to finally bring them home.”

“Bring them home?”

He brushed his thumb over her trembling lips. “I believe your parents are still alive and being held captive by Balthazar Nightshade.”

10th Installment - Susan Dude

She paused for a second, taking him in, and then bit his thumb and pushed him away.  “You are wearing my patience down, you jackass!”  She stepped away from him.  “Of course they’re still alive.  My heart could feel it if they were gone.  But Balthazar holding them captive?  That sniveling, mealy-mouse sorry excuse of a man doesn’t have the guts to look me in the eye, much less plot to have two strong, valuable people snatched and held captive.”  She turns away from Morgan so he won’t see the weakness in her and fails miserably at trying to stop her eyes from tearing up.  

Morgan paces around the floor, shaking his throbbing thumb.  “You almost drew blood and that hurt like hell!  Are you not used to people wanting to comfort you?

“Comfort, yes.  Accost and seduce,” she honestly replies, “no.  Besides, I don’t know you.”

Sighing deeply, Morgan attempts to get them back on track, “Look, we’re stuck up here together for a few days. We will get to know each other.  Could we start over and try to get along and help each other?”

“That might be possible if I truly understood what I’m up here for.”

Morgan walks to his desk and picks up the manila files.  “We are going through every single fact, every memory you have, everything that’s happened in the last few years and see what connections we can make.  We will find your parents and make these past few years’ right.”

The tension and silence between them was thick.  “What makes this so important to you, why do you care so much?” she questions him.

“I could say it’s just my job, but it’s larger than that.  Genodine Pharmaceuticals is on the verge of leading the world into a tremendous breakthrough in preventing biological warfare, something larger than the formulas supposedly stolen by your parents.”  

Tara shakes her head.  “That’s great, but what’s that got to do with me?”

“The company has a mole.”

She takes that in. “Do they, now?”  Her interest was piqued.  She readied her emotions and senses for battle.  “Since my parents aren’t here to blame, you think whoever it is was somehow connected to them?”

Oh, Sean was right about Tara.  She was one smart cookie.  “Yes, to them, or to you.”  Morgan’s stomach fluttered as he felt her being reeled in like a salmon still fighting against the current.  She wasn’t going to be an easy catch, but he had persistence and patience on his side.  The location of her parents didn’t hurt either.  He took a moment and realized the force of nature that he would have to deal with once she discovered his part in the disappearance of her parents.  This snowstorm would have nothing on her fury.  He had to choose his words wisely.  “I want you to know I truly believe your parents are alive and that we will find them.  There are too many things that point in that direction. Wherever they are, they’re in danger.”

Tara chuckles.  “You think I’m in danger or that I’m the mole?  You think Balthazar is responsible for their disappearance or that he could be the mole?”  Tara questioned, not wanting to sound too intrigued.  “You know I can’t be unbiased where he’s concerned.”  

“No, I know you are not the mole.  The information that’s being leaked isn’t information you don’t have access to.  Several people around you do, however.”

Tara was eager to get into those documents but she didn’t want to tip her hand just yet.  She went to the kitchen and turned at the island and looked at Morgan.  “I’m famished.  This is your home, but I do know my way around a kitchen.”  She opened the refrigerator and stuck her head in. “Will it be an omelets or bagels?”

Christ, how could his own sweatpants keep tempting him to rip them off her curvy body?  Trying to calm down, Morgan followed her to the kitchen.  “Both,” he whispered in her ear.  Remembering her quick reflexes, he took a step back.  “We’re going to be busy so let’s start on a full stomach.”

Tara’s mind wandered while whisking the eggs.  Flickers of memories filled her mind.  The sweet sound of her momma humming as she made cookies. The acrid fragrance of the smoke from her father’s cigar as he flipped the burgers on the grill.  The squeals of laughter that rang out as they all plunged into the pool together.  Those were wonderful memories she carried with her.  Then they were suddenly gone.  Stolen from her by lies and accusations of a man she would go to her grave hating - Balthazar Nightshade.

“What did those eggs ever do to you?” Morgan teases, jolting Tara back to the present.

She puts down the whisk to reach around him.  A hot jolt shoots through Morgan as her breasts brush against his back.  “All right, big boy,” she says seductively.  “Are there any limits on the lengths we can go to as we smoke this son of a bitch out?”

His voice was hard to find, but he managed.  “No, none at all.”

“Consider me all in under one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to keep your hands off me.”

He allows his eyes to travel up and down her body, not hiding his appreciation.  “All right, but only until you ask me not to keep them to myself.”

She rolls her eyes.  “Since that will never happen, what do you have in mind?”

Final Installment - Emily Allen

Two hours, one omelet and a bagel, plus a shit load of coffee. Tara squealed and jumped up from the chair she had been slouching in. If her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her, she just found the info Morgan and she had been looking for the last two hours.  Looking at the piece of paper again and seeing the name Pete Hamer, this had come up over and over.  She let out another squeal, which died on her lips when Morgan came running with a 9mm and his loving Rottweiler, Bud right behind him, barking.

“What’s going on?” Morgan asked looking around the room.

“The better question is what the hell are you doing with th…that?”  She asked stepping away from him.

Morgan looked at the gun, than back to Tara and knew he had to come clean. But first he put the safety back on, slid it in the back of his jeans and took a set. “You might want to sit down for this.”

Tara’s head told her to find a way to run, but her heart told her to stay and find out what was going on. “I’ll listen to what you have to say, but if you don’t come clean on everything, I’m walking out that door and I won’t come back.” With that she took the chair she had been sitting in.

Not holding anything back, Morgan filled her in on what had been happening the last few months. From her parents and Sean hiring him to find out who the leak was, along with making sure she was safe. When he finished, he sat back to give her time to let what he said sink in. Of course it didn’t take him long to figure out that she knew he was holding something back. Damn she really was a smart cookie.

“Are you going to tell me the rest?” She demanded crossing her arms.

Morgan couldn’t think for that pose pushed her orange size breast up and all he could think about was taking them in his mouth. Which lead to other things he’d like to do to her?

“Morgan.”

“What?”

“You have more to tell me.”

“You know you should have been a PI instead of whatever it is you do at Genodine Pharmaceuticals.”

“I think I’ll take that as a compliment, now spill.”

“I will as long as you promise not to get angry and remember this was all done to keep you safe.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Your parents are staying in the cabin up the road from here.” He leaned as far back as the chair would allow, waiting for Tara to blow.

“Oh is that all. I thought maybe it had something to do with Pete Hamer.”

“What do you mean is that all?”

“I figured that out last night while you were getting more wood. You should watch where you leave your papers.”

Morgan looked at her in complete shock. No wonder he found himself so attracted to her. Wait what did she just say. “Did you say Pete Hamer?”

“Yes he’s the mole.”

“How?”

Tara smiled and filled Morgan in on what she had found. When she finished, he was just looking at her. “What?”

“You are amazing. I could kiss you.”

“Well what are you waiting for?”

Without giving her a chance to change her mind, Morgan jumped up and grabbed Tara. “This is going to be fast and then we will try it slow.” With that he swung her into his arms, took her mouth in a kiss and walked to the bedroom.