Carter Brothers: Adrian (Rated R Novel)

Chapter 24

 Chapter 24

"Morning sunshine!" calls an overly perky Hanna as she glides into Sam's office clad in a beautiful candyfloss skirt and white chiffon blouse.
Sammie just groans as she takes the last gulp of her latte and finishes up on the report.
"Shit, Hanna, I'm so sorry we were meant to hang out, weren't we?" she groans.
"Girl, forget about that! I heard what happened to your apartment! Jeez-"
"Wait how did you hear-" The deadpan look Hanna gives Sam stops short. Of course, secretary to the Chief, why does she even bother asking Han where she gets her gossip from?
"Okay, yeah some punk broke in and managed to spray paint 'stop digging' on my wall and then ran away. But I don't even understand why-"
Sammie suddenly stills.

Wait a second!....She does know why! That was the day after she went with Liam to get the scoop on Hanson. The message must be referring to her digging into his past. Which means...her suspicions are accurate-Hanson has to be in on it with Santiago. Probably as Santiago's little dirty spy just like when they were younger.

"Sam? You know something?" asks Hanna excited by the intelligent glint in her friend's eyes as she pieces the puzzle together.
"Something like that...What do you think of Hanson?" she distractedly asks trying to make the question sound casual.
"Shawn?...Meh. Good looking enough but he can be an asshole sometimes....Hey, you and Adrian aren't having problems are you?"
"What? No. No, no! I'm only asking because I think...." she shifts uncomfortably-should she tell Hanna this or not?
"What? Sammie, you know you can tell me," encourages Hanna.
"Alright but this is serious-you can't tell anyone...Truth is, I have reason to believe Hanson's a...rat. I think he's working for Santiago."
Hanna gasps in shock, "what? Why?"
Nodding Sam proceeds to tell her about the 'coincidences' that happened and the details of the background research she did.

"So what are you going to do? Can't you arrest him?"
"Based on what, Han? I can't prove he's Santiago's lackey, any more than I can prove that they've managed to stay in touch all these years. I need real evidence," groans Sam.
"...Well has the warehouse managed to turn up something?"
Sam can only shake her head. Since they'd discovered the place and kitted it with camera's-nothing had turned up. She has a chilling thought as she wonders if Santiago's guys have realised that they have the place under watch. No...No, Hanson doesn't know that they're keeping tabs on it. All he knows is they found cocaine there and then left. Nothing more. He doesn't know they identified and marked the drugs before placing them back so why has nothing happened so far? No one in-no one out. It's frustrating beyond belief but Sam has a feeling that something's bound to go down there, thus her insistence to Chief to allow the camera's to remain.
"Not yet but I have this feeling that it will."
Hanna just smiles and shakes her head, "you and your 'feelings'. So tell me is there any left between your legs or has Adrian-"

"Hanna! Shut-up," she hisses, cheeks flaming in embarrassment.
"You promised me dirty details!" retorts Hanna to which Sam can only argue against. She never promised details.
"I did no such thing!" Sam snorts with a wave of her hand in dismissal at her friend but if Sam thinks she's stubborn then she's got some major competition with Hanna, since Hanna is like a bloodhound when it comes to other people's business.
"Come on! Please, Sammie! You owe me this! I helped you with your date and-"
"Can't I just buy you lunch instead?" offers Sam.
"Nope...But tell me has he used ropes?"
Sam offers no answer but the soft blush blooming on her cheeks is answer enough and it has a sly grin forming on Hanna's perfectly painted lips.
"Oh, bondage, nice. How about...toys?"
Sam's mind darts to the memory of gazing at bright cornflower coloured eyes through a lustful gaze while large capable hands slowly worked a purple vibration contraption into her.
"Wow! And this from the girl who refused to enter a BDSM Club! Alright...how about punishments? Spankings?" excitedly questions Hanna as Sam can only turn a darker shade of red at her bountiful share of punishments and more to come on the way. Even that first spanking-dear God-that first spanking...

"Hey! Earth to Sammie, come in Sammie!" jokes Hanna as Sam snaps out of her memories.
"Huh? Stop it Han! I mean it, no more!" cries Sam knowing that even in silence Hanna hear her answers loud and clear.
Her best friend just laughs in response, "alright...Alright, just one more question. How big is Carter Junior?"
Sam gapes at her as Hanna dissolves into a fit of giggles. Horrified and mortified, Sam can only flounder her slack jaw like a comical fish out of water as she tries to formulate a response.
"Hanna! I am..I am not telling you how large my boyfriend's...penis is!" she hisses as Hanna just bursts into more giggles.
Great, just great, thinks Sam. She wonders with horror if Hanna has any more questions and prays to every deity believed in the world that Hanna does not start to ask descriptive questions on the subject of Adrian's...genitalia.

Thankfully, someone or something out there must have heard her since at that very moment when Hanna's opening her mouth, Gale Briggs bursts through her office door slightly red-faced and excited.
"Oh..Sorry to-Oh, hi Hanna, I didn't see you there-I mean not that you're a wallflower or anything because you're not! Not that it's a bad thing-but I mean I just-you just-I-"
Sam shoots Hanna a short glare to save the poor man she's watching floundering about like a fish out of water. The poor guy's had an insatiable crush on Hanna for years but Sam had warned Hanna that if she's not serious about Gale, not to indulge him. Gale's a sweetie and a one woman for a while, kind of guy. When he likes someone, he really likes them and Hanna, for lack of better word is fun. She likes having her cake and eating it, upon many willing chiselled abs. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but Sam can't afford to let Hanna play her right hand man's heart like a finely tuned guitar while they're working on the biggest case of their career.
"Don't worry I know what you mean, hon," Hanna finally says to him with a wink, that only serves to cause Briggs to blush deeper.

Sam decides that Gale's suffered sufficient embarrassment for the time being and clearing her throat, she snaps his attention back to her.
"So, what is it you wanted Briggs?"
"Huh? Oh..." his eyes then suddenly light up again in excitement, "Oh! Ma'am you have to see this! Callaghan was going through last night's taped footage of the warehouse and...well, you just have to see this."
Hope blooms in Sam's chest and she leaps to her feet in exhilaration.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" she exclaims switching off the computer and shooing Hanna out of her office. She shuts the door and follows Briggs to John Callaghan's office. Apart from her and the Chief, Callaghan's the only other one to have his own office and that's because he's their resident tech guru as well as being a brilliant officer. Therefore, naturally Sam had to have him on her team.   

John's greying full head of hair spins around at the intrusion but that frown quickly smoothes into a small grin at the sight of an eager Deputy.
"Just in time, Deputy-" he drawls clicking away at his computer documents to bring up the file marked with yesterday night's video file, "-may I present Paolo Santiago and his mysterious sidekick."
Sam watches closely with wide eyes as the black and grey video shows the grainy images of Santiago walking into the warehouse and gazing around. He lights up a cigarette and continues to smoke it, only putting it out when a man in a hoodie and shades turn up. He also wears a scarf he uses to conceal most of his lower face and with the loose baggy clothes there's not much he's giving away as to his appearance. She stores away details of his height, seeming weight and shoe size as she continues to watch as Santiago and the mystery guy continue their exchange. Santiago nods and replies to whatever he's saying and after exchanging a few more words, Santiago and the man nod their heads at each other before the guy walks out. A few minutes later, Santiago too exits and that ends that.

"So I'm guessing we don't have an ID on the guy?" murmurs Sam knowing her answer anyway.
"No ID. All we know is he's 5' 8", light coloured hair-"
"Wait. How'd you know that?"
"We managed to zoon in on the face and pick out a few strands of light coloured hair. So either he's got highlights or he has light hair. Everything else was too well concealed for facial recognition to pick up anything and even then he may not even be in our systems."

Oh, Sam's sure he'd be in the system-probably just under a different folder, say the one marked employees. For her, knowing what she does, there's no doubt that the dirty double-crosser is Hanson; but since this evidence is too inconclusive she knows she can't start throwing out wild suggestions like that at her team.

"Fucking fantastic," sarcastically bites out Sam which just has John chuckling and shaking his head slightly in amusement.
"Might want to tone down the sarcasm there, Deputy. Especially since we've managed to discover that Santiago's taking about a shipment about to come in next week."
Sam's eyebrows dart up and she has to work hard to stop herself bouncing giddily up and down, "do we know when?"
"Nope. But I will monitor these screens constantly during that time. It's my fault he got away this time and I'm sorry but I'd thought that with nothing happening these past few-"
"John," cuts in Sam with a soft glare, "it's alright. This is an even bigger opportunity anyway; think about how well it'll hold up if we catch Santiago and his rat and pounds of illegal substances altogether?"
John gives a small smile, appreciating the fact that his boss is not holding his own slip-up against him.
"I guess you're right."
"It's a gift," smirks back Sam teasing him as she gives his a wink as she leaves his office to return to her own.




Spirits soaring, Sam works diligently throughout the day stopping only for lunch and enjoying it with her friends. It's only when it gets nearer the end of the day that she remembers Adrian. Cringing she takes out a piece of paper and a pen and sighs, trying to focus on what to write.



It's past 10. 10pm, notes Sam with worry as she gazes at her phone and wonders whether she should call Adrian or not to ask where he is...again. Screw it. Who cares if he thinks she's being needy?! She's going out of her fucking mind thinking of what could have happened. Ringing only to get his voicemail, Sam sighs and tries to concentrate on the video playing.
She must have dozed off because she suddenly finds herself jolted awake by the front door shutting. Switching off the TV, she shrugs the blanket off her shoulders and stands up with hands crossed over her chest, fully prepared for a fight. After all, she's had about 2 hours to gain her strength for it.

The first, she notes in surprise, is the dampness of his hair, it looks like sweat. But then his shirt's not so wet meaning...he must have put it on after sweating. Sam's heart pounds irrationally as she tries to stop herself thinking what that implies.
"Oh hello, you're still awake," he states with surprise causing her to narrow her eyes in fury.
He comes in so late and all he says is the obvious? Anger and insecurity wraps around her in equal measure. Wordlessly she slowly stalks up to his confused and rigid frame. Raising on to her toes, she leans forwards towards his thick corded neck and inhales the scent there. Frowning she leans back, her insensitive nose can't detect any hints of a woman's perfume, only the scent of sweat and his own musky, masculine fragrance.
"Sniff anything interesting?" he sarcastically asks so unaware of the internal battle occurring inside her. Sam's baffled at how unresponsive he is of her turmoil.
"Where were you?" she whispers hoarsely trying to swallow that choking lump lodged in her throat. His body stiffens and before he can open his mouth to answer her, Sam's thoughts have another change of heart as she prickles with fury.
"How could you do that to me? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I called you so many times! I thought...I thought you'd been in an accident or you...."
She breaks off into pants and finally manages to swallow the lump from her throat only for it to move into her chest. Suddenly his arms wrap around her and he hauls her against her chest. His warmth soothes her nerves, calming her senses and the hard contours of his body has her thoughts blurring at the edges.
"Sam...I'm fine," he exhales softly causing her shoulders to relax in relief, right before a good lick of sense kicks in and she breaks free of his embrace.
"I can see that, you inconsiderate ass," she spits before crossing her arms across her chest with indigence. Oh no, if he thinks he's getting out that easy then he has another thing coming!
"I don't see the need to start nameca-"
"Oh trust me, I could call you a lot worse," she glares, "so where were you? You know while I was sat here worried out of my fucking mind?!"

Adrian's gaze softens as she confesses that. He hadn't even thought of calling her or telling her of his plans tonight for a run. He actually hadn't expected to come home so late, but his last meeting ran over and his wolf spirit just seemed to restless for him to cancel his plans. Habit meant that he'd completely forgot that there'd be someone actually at his house waiting on him. It strangely and selfishly feels nice that she'd bothered to stay up for him; that she'd worried over his entrance and that she actually cared enough to now call him out for his forgetfulness. However with all that comes the guilt. If the dark circles and her drooping eyelids are any indication then there's no doubt that she too must have had a full, stressful day and he has not helped matters in ending it on a more stressful note.

"I went for a run," he explains.
"A run?" she repeats incredulous-how stupid does he think she is? "Oh really? At night? In no running gea-"
"As a wolf. In the woods," he clarifies with a small smile. Should it worry him that she tends to forget the wolf aspect of his life? And even the money aspect? Nope, he decides. He actually prefers that she just sees the man although perhaps it would be a good idea for her to bear in mind he does have all these other sides to him.
"Oh."

She blinks for a moment before the spark rekindles and she frowns again.

"You could have called before or even after!" she accuses. He sighs as his hands clasp on her shoulders. Adrian has to fight back the grin that threatens to erupt over his face when he imagines her as his little rocket and there he is holding her down.
"I know Princess, I'm sorry. I suppose it slipped from my mind that I now have the luxury of having someone waiting for me," he tries to placate her with a brief smile.
Despite her protest, at the sight of that damned sad smile and the softness in his eyes, Sam finds her own heart resigning its role as a hardened solider and turning to fluff. Into stupid, cotton cushioning; so much so that it has Sam cursing herself whilst it absorbs all the fury in her veins.
"Yeah well...next time say something," she grumbles shifting from one foot to the other as even that smidge of reluctance to forgive him vanishes. At least he's home safe, she consoles and that apparently is enough for her new inner self.

He just smiles at her and plants a strategic kiss at the top of her head, causing her heart to flutter. Tilting her head up she softly presses her own kiss at his lips before pulling back as fatigue catches up with her.
"Have you eaten?"
"Yes."
"Okay, so shower and bed?"
"Shower and bed."

Sam smiles as she feels his weight behind her. His thick arm wrapping her around into his chest as his body provides a blanket of physical protection and that familiar musky scent of his calms her senses. Interlocking her fingers with his at her waist she falls willingly to sleep, all tension vanquished. 

A/n So I'll end it on that note. Next chapter will be more personal stuff with Ade+Sam as well as her 'punishment'. And wow, I can't believe how long this book is turning. I promise I'm not trying to drag it out-this is everything I had planned but I guess when I write it, it just turns out wayyy longer than expected. 
Hopefully I shall update the next chapter in another week (though not sure since I am going to be away for a few days) otherwise, it will be between 1-2 weeks. No later than 2-I promise! Hope you all enjoyed. xx