Alpha Bravo Team

Mia was warm and very content when she woke. The pillow under her head was moving and had a heartbeat that was steady and soothing in her ear. She stretched and felt the strong, muscular arms wrap around her, holding her almost tenaciously against him. She heard him moan and lifted her head, seeing the tousled man who'd made love to her through the night hours and well into the morning.

She'd long since lost her shyness in front of him and she hitched herself up so that she could reach his mouth. "Is my bet paid off?" she asked when he finally let her go.

"Not even close. Mia, I think it might take decades before you get this one paid off."

She smiled and shook her head. "I always knew you were a cheat."

Aidan's face expressed his shock and he opened his arms. "Fine, if that's the way you feel..."

Mia laughed and bent to kiss him again, following his lips when he pulled back away from her. "You are so easy, Aidan."

"I'm easy? I think I proved to you last night that I'm anything but easy."

His eyebrows raised when she giggled, a totally un-Mia-like sound. Her hand smoothed over the stubbled flesh of his cheek. "See how easy I made you think that this whole getting me into bed business was your idea? Yep, you're a real pushover."

Aidan rolled her over, coming up on top of her. "This was your idea?"

"How many times have you beaten me at the range, Aidan? Think about it..."

"I have. I know I have." He rolled off of her, sitting up in bed and running his hand through his short hair. "Haven't I?"

Mia came up on her knees, her arms going around him, her hands stroking down his chest. "Oh, poor Aidan. He just can't believe that sweet little me would ever pull the wool over his eyes."

Aidan reached behind him, grabbing her arm and dragging her around him to pull her into his arms. He kissed her, lifting his head when she settled against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm not sure how I feel about this..."

Mia smiled. "I guess you've got two options. You could make the best out of it and make love with me once more before we have to go to work, or you can get pissy about having a woman best you and take me back to my truck now. Which do you prefer?"

"Wait...then all that about your dad?"

"No, that was the truth. But I decided a long time ago that I wanted you to be the one. You don't think I dropped my pants for everyone in the van to see. I was getting tired of you pussy footin' around. It was nice seeing the spark in your eyes." She pulled his head down, whispering against his lips. "Make love with me, Aidan."

"Well, since you asked me nicely," he groaned when her lips parted under his mouth. Her tongue was sweetly insistent, tracing his teeth before playing against his own. She hummed her pleasure, arching her back to bring her breasts into contact with his chest. He rolled her under him, parting her legs, letting his fingers play in the warm secretions of her body. He parted her thighs wider, his hard cock rubbing against her wet flesh.

"Inside me, Aidan. Fuck me."

"So anxious, Mia. Didn't you get enough of me last night?" He laughed as she pouted, her eyes growing hard. But when she tried to push him away, he refused to move, his long fingers strumming at her clit. Her hips undulated under his maddening touch.

"Aidan," she growled. She traced her fingers down his wide chest then around to his back, stroking them over the hard curve of his ass. "Quit teasing."

"I thought you enjoyed teasing, Mia. Isn't that what you were doing when you stripped down to that delightful scrap of red satin and lace? You were begging me to touch you, weren't you?"

His fingers had her so close to coming she had to forcibly bring her attention to what he was saying. "Yes," she whimpered. "But I couldn't think of any other way to get you to see me as a woman."

He flicked his index finger over her clit before capturing the swollen and tender bud between his thumb and finger, pinching it with delicate precision. He smiled darkly as she cried out, her body arching, her legs quivering as she came for him. "I saw you as a woman, Mia," he whispered seductively against the whorl of her ear. "You've been driving me crazy for the past four years." He caught her earlobe between his teeth, biting it sensually and then lapping at it with his tongue.

She cried out again when her orgasm continued, his fingers driving her to a mindless bliss that was impossible to resist. He slowed and gentled his touch before pulling his hand away and quickly thrusting inside of her. His sudden movement had her digging her fingers into his arms, crying out again and again. It was one long, sensual moment that had her body arching against his, begging for more.

His breathing grew ragged, husky, his movements jerky. He groaned when she drew her legs up, circling his waist, her feet digging into the small of his back. He could feel the strength of her climax as he stroked into her shivering flesh. "God, yes, Mia." He arched his back, her name roaring from his lips. He spurted into her, bathing her womb with his warm seed.

"You'll be the death of me," he moaned against her hair.

Mia closed her eyes, enjoying every tiny movement he made. There was a sudden shrill ringing that had her eyes opening and had her pushing him off her, searching for her uniform pants. She reached into one of the pockets and grabbed her cell phone. A quick look at the screen had her flipping it open. "Are you all right?"

Aidan blinked when she swore violently and jumped from the bed without saying another word. She was tugging on her boots when she noted that Aidan was also dressing. "W-where...?"

"That was your sister, right?"

Mia nodded, then grabbed for her shirt.

"Well, your truck is at the base. I'm taking you home and I'll help you with whatever is going on there."

She jumped up, kissing him quickly before heading out of his bedroom. "Well, if you're coming, let's go!"

Mia jumped out of Aidan's truck as soon as he pulled into the driveway of her house. She could see a familiar shitty green Ford Festiva sitting in her driveway and it pissed her off. The shouting and screams coming from the house infuriated her even more. "That son of a bitch is dead."

Aidan grabbed her arm when she stalked toward the front door. "Whoa, Mia. Let's think about this. Does he have a gun?"

"If Ricky had a gun, he'd blow off his own dick." She snarled at him when he kept her arm in his hand. "Don't make me hurt you, Aidan. My sister and niece are in there."

"And you don't want to incite him any more than he is now. Calm down, think about this. What would Demon tell you right now?"

Mia took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Recon, Kodiak. We aren't going in there blind."

"Right. You go around back and see if you can see anything. I'll take the front." He kissed her, soft and lovingly. "No idiot moves, Mia." He gave her a stern look.

Then he turned her, sending her toward the back of her house. He headed to the front door, peering into the small side windows that ran on either side of the door. Though his view was obstructed by a wall, he saw Tanya and Emilee sitting on a couch, Emilee clinging to her mother. Then Ricky came into view. He was shouting, his face red, his hands flung wide.

Tanya glanced at the door and he cursed softly, seeing the new bruises that were on her face. Mia was going to go ballistic. As if his thoughts were a premonition, he saw Mia throw open the kitchen doorway and come rushing through the arch between the kitchen and the living room.

"Shit," he growled, pushing open the front door just as Ricky lifted his gun to point at Mia. "Drop it scum bag!"

Ricky barely glanced his way. "You fucking cunt. You think you're so lily white good and pure and your shit don't stink but bitch, you have no right. You can't stand between Tanya and me. She's having my baby and I won't let you take that away from me."

Mia stared at the barrel of the gun that Ricky was pointing her way. "Emilee, go to your room." Her words were spoken softly but they held a force that had the girl standing to leave the room. Mia held up a hand at Aidan. "No, this asshole is mine."

Aidan nodded though she could see he wasn't happy about it. He let his gun hand drop to his side but his eyes remained steadfast on Ricky.

Emilee paused as she brushed by Mia. "Feral is outside," she whispered.

"That's okay, baby. He's fine. Just go to your room now." Mia let her hand rest on Emilee's head for a moment and then gave her a gentle push toward the hallway. "Stay in there no matter what, okay?"

"Yes, Aunt Mia." She glanced back at her mother and then headed down the hall. The streaks of tears on her face made Mia grind her teeth. No child should have to go through what Emilee had been through or see what this innocent young girl had. It pissed her off that Tanya hadn't cared more for her daughter, especially after everything their father had put them through.

"This ends now, Ricky. Get your ass in your piece of shit car and get out of my house."

"Not without Tanya. You can keep the whiny little brat if you like, but I'm taking my girl." He reached out and grabbed a handful of Tanya's blonde hair, forcing her up and against him. Tanya gasped, her hands going to his as she tried to ease the pain..

"Ricky, no..."

Ricky let go of her hair, backhanding her so that she fell back against the couch, a new trail of blood trickling down her chin.

"You son of a bitch. Why don't you try that with me?" Mia was almost frothing, her anger was so extreme. She set her gun on a shelf and then motioned him forward with eager hands. "Come on, Ricky. Show me how much of a man you are."

Aidan sighed, but he kept his eyes on Ricky. He knew that Mia would have an eager glow, looking forward to the fight ahead, but he wasn't going to give Ricky any chance of hurting the woman he loved. He wasn't concerned that Ricky might win, but only that he might cheat and use his gun or some other weapon. That he wouldn't, he couldn't allow. "Make this quick, Mia. We've got to get to work and I'd really rather not have to clean up a blood bath."

Ricky snorted and giggled, a high pitch girly sound that gave Mia the creeps. She looked into his eyes and saw that they were dilated. He twitched and jerked, tossing his gun onto the couch. He was tweaking and that made him more dangerous. He moved toward Mia quickly, his fist coming out to strike Mia in the face.

Her head flew back, moving before he even got close enough to connect. She ducked down to have his next punch fly over her head before stepping up and putting her whole weight into her first punch. Her fist was small but it held a mixture of her body natural flow and the strength of her arm. Ricky wheeled backward, his hands coming up to his face. When he pulled them back, they were full of blood from his now broken nose.

"You fucking bitch!" he screamed and then rushed her.

Aidan's body tensed, ready to step in if Mia needed him, but she didn't. She easily sidestepped his charge, grabbing his arm and using his own body movement to fling him back around and then into the side of the archway. Ricky stumbled again, this time falling to his ass to sit and blink up at her.

Mia smiled sweetly. "Ready to say Uncle, Ricky? All you have to do is nod and my friend here has some pretty bracelets for you to wear."

Ricky shook his head hard, blood streaming from a fresh cut to his forehead that was quickly swelling. His eyes were dazed, a mixture of pain and the drugs in his system confusing him. With a groan, he rose slowly. "A bitch like you is not going to take me down."

She glanced over at Aidan and shook her head sadly. "It doesn't seem to matter how smart they were before they got hooked on that shit, they just never seem to learn."

Ricky stood on shaky legs, his feet moving slowly as he tried to keep his balance. He blinked at her owlishly and walked toward her, his fists coming up and from the side, swinging in what looked like slow motion. "You've taken everything, bitch. You're going to go down."

Mia could see it in his eyes the second before he brought up the gun. Hers was on one of the shelf across the room and she dove for it, knowing she was going to be too late. The sound of the gunshot was loud and she waited for the jolt of the bullet and then the burning, searing pain she knew was coming. She managed to grab her gun and rolled to her back, thinking that, by the grace of God, he'd missed.

But Ricky was slowly falling to his knees, a blossom of bright red spreading on the grayed white tank top. He'd dropped his gun, his hands clawing at the pain in his chest. His eyes were wide, surprise still apparent. He opened his mouth, a gout of blood spilling onto his shirt. "Bitch!" he growled, his voice garbled and almost unrecognizable. Then he fell straight forward to the ground, his eyes growing cold as the life flowed from him.

Tanya's scream was loud and anguished. She stared down at her lover's dead body. "He's dead? Oh God, he's dead!" She rose from the couch that Ricky had pushed her onto and then went to his side, staring down at him. "You fucking son of a bitch!" With a scream of pure rage, she drew back her foot and kicked him with all the strength in her body. "You'll never hit me again!"

"Mama?"

Emilee's soft voice seemed to be the only thing that would draw Tanya out of her rage. She glanced from Ricky to her daughter who was coming out of the bedroom. "It's all right, sweetheart." She held her hand out to Emilee. "Let's go outside and see Feral." Tanya tried to hide Ricky's body from her daughter, not wanting her to have to deal with that final bit of horror that Ricky would inflict upon her.

Tanya passed her sister, her hand stroking over the top of her head. "Thank you," she whispered.

Mia smiled up at her and, seeing the damage Ricky had inflicted, closed her eyes for a moment. "I'd have beaten him longer if I'd known how badly he'd hurt you, Tanya."

"No, it's over and I am so grateful. This is nothing." Her hand went to her face, pushing gently on the swelling that was growing around her eyes. "A bit of ice and a few weeks and you'll never know it existed."

There was a loud pounding on Mia's front door and Aidan jumped. He went to the door, opening it to see a strange man standing in the doorway. Glancing in to see Mia on the floor and Tanya's bruised and swelling face, Micah reacted before anyone could stop him. "You son of a bitch," he growled, his fist flashing and striking Aidan in the nose.

Aidan staggered back and Mia rose quickly, hearing Tanya say the man's name. "Dammit, Micah. What did you do that for?"

Micah blinked, confusion causing him to drop his fists to the side, his arms opening when Tanya threw herself in them. "He didn't hurt me, Micah. Ricky did." She glanced at the body on the floor.

"I knew I shouldn't have left you alone last night." His hand came up, his fingers gently brushing over the new marks of abuse on her pretty face.

"Micah! Micah!" Emilee screeched his name, racing toward him to throw herself in his arms. "Ricky hurt Mama again."

Micah picked her up, holding her easily in one arm, the other still around Tanya. "He won't do it again, honey. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Emilee's little fingers touched a red mark that was on the side of her face. "I tried to get him to quit hitting Mama."

Micah gently kissed the red mark. "You are a brave girl, Emmy. And I am very proud of you for trying to stick up for your Mama."

Emilee's eyes lit up and she wrapped her little arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. "Can we come and live with you, Micah?"

Tanya gently pressed her fingers against Emilee's mouth. "Baby, we barely know Micah. You shouldn't ask questions like that."

Mia had pushed Aidan down onto the couch to check out the damage Micah had inflicted. She pushed her fingers into the slight swelling, laughing as he groused and pulled his head away. "Ouch! Mia, dammit, that hurts."

"Baby," Mia teased. Then she bent and kissed his eye. "All better?"

Aidan pulled her down into his lap. "It's a start. My mouth hurts too."

Mia laughed at him. "Later. We need to get some help and get that..." she pointed toward Ricky's body, "off my carpet and out of my house." She glanced over at the man who'd hit Aidan and now held both her niece and her sister. "Micah? What are you doing here?"

Before he could answer, Tanya stepped in front of Micah, her small body between the man and her sister. "Ricky tried to get in last night. Micah came and helped me out, Mia."

Mia moved toward her sister, gently touching her bruised face. "I wish I could have killed him for you," she whispered. Then she rose on tiptoe and kissed Micah on his rough, stubbled cheek. "I owe you, Micah. Thank you."

"I just wish I could have gotten here quicker. I'm going to take Tanya and this young lady," he nodded toward Emilee who still rode in his arms. "Into the kitchen and get her some ice for her face."

Mia nodded and pulled her cell phone from her pants' pocket and made a quick call before she came back to Aidan. "Man up, honey, the team is on the way. I'm going to go get you some of that ice and check on Tanya. Let them in when they get here?"

Aidan nodded, his eyes following the tiny brunette that he knew he now lived for. Even after the night they'd had and then her fight with Ricky, she was still breathtaking. His eyes fell to the cute twitch of her ass and then rose to the sleepy gray/green of her eyes as she glanced back at him. Her smile made him feel like that cartoon mutt on television he'd watched when he was a child, the one that would smell food and then hug itself before floating in the air and slowly billowing toward the ground. But it was the saucy wink she gave him that made him get up out of the chair. He had to physically force himself not to follow her, but it was close.

* * * *

Mia's hands were gentle on Tanya's bruised and swollen face. "Baby, I'm sorry about Ricky. I know you loved him."

"No you're not, Mia. Don't even try to give me that speech. Ricky was a leech and an ass and he got what he deserved." Tanya moaned as her lip cracked and began to bleed again. "If he'd loved me like he said, he would never have hit me to begin with and he certainly wouldn't be willing to share me with other men for money."

Mia sighed in relief. "Thank God, finally. So what made you come around to this way of thinking?"

Tanya glanced over at Micah who was holding Emilee's interest. They'd let Feral in and Emilee was taking him through his long repertoire of tricks, showing Micah how to whistle just the right way to get Feral to listen. "Ricky was here last night."

"He was what? Why didn't you call me?"

"Micah made him leave, Mia. Then he stayed with us for a while to make sure Ricky didn't come back last night. We...talked."

"Who talked? You and Micah or you and Ricky?"

"Micah," Tanya said quickly with just a note of 'get with the program,' in her voice. "He kind of made me realize that a real man wouldn't slap me around, that, just because they're bigger, didn't mean that they made the laws in the relationship. He made me see what Ricky had done to Emilee." A big crystal teardrop hung from her lower lashes and Mia watched it slide down her cheek and over the scrape on her cheekbone and jaw.

"Well then, thank God for Micah. Are you sure you don't want me to run you up to the hospital? Just to make sure there isn't any real damage?"

"No." She laughed ruefully. "Believe it or not, it looks worse than it is. Ricky's done more damage. You got here before he could really start up." She wrapped her arms around Mia, holding her tightly. "Thank you," she whispered against her ear.

"You're my baby sister, Tanya. I couldn't do anything else but protect you."