The doctor looked confused. “I thought Australia was a big island?”
Celia took pity on him. “He means Hawaii,” she said. “The big island there.”
“Oh.”
“We need every one of us off this island ASAP,” Papa said. “If we’re already underway when they close the borders, we’re free and clear. Once Oz locks down, not even Dorothy and her little dog will be allowed in or out, ruby slippers or not.”
Celia caught the old reference and smiled. “I thought we were going in off the books?” she asked.
“We are, but I can have my contacts get everything arranged for us before we arrive.”
“That would make you the Wizard, then.”
He shrugged. “I gotta be useful for something around here besides herding monkeys.”
They were on the road fifty-nine minutes after Papa’s initial decree, just before one in the morning. Tango drove the truck they were in, bringing up the rear, Celia sandwiched on the seat between him and Doc, with thirteen of their guys riding in the back with gear and the doctor’s equipment. Papa drove the lead truck, the rest of the guys and Dr. Quong’s equipment in the back. Alpha drove the minivan carrying the Quong family and staying between the two trucks.
“You think we’ll have any trouble?” Celia asked her men as they neared the docks.
“Nope,” they echoed. Tango smiled. “Papa’s got this shit handled.”
The guard at the gate leaned in to talk to Papa through the open window of his truck. A moment later, they were all being waved through without further discussion.
“See?” Doc told her. “That’s why he’s got the rank.”
They pulled up at the dock next to a large ship. “Ooh, we’re going in style.” Tango’s comment bore more than a hint of sarcasm.
“What?” she asked.
“It’s a neobattlecruiser,” Doc explained as he reached for his door handle. “Carries nearly two thousand crew. They’re armed, but more a support vessel now than they were fifty years ago when they started building them.” He turned after getting out and stared at Tango. “Not every fricking boat can be a supercarrier,” he told him. “Suck it up, buttercup. Don’t be a goddamned diva.”
Tango flipped him a bird before getting out.
She followed the men. Already, an officer was racing down the main gangplank, two others trailing in his wake. He met up with Papa, who quickly discussed things with them before shit got real. After everyone lined up for and passed stick tests from the vessel’s doctor, there followed an explosion of activity, with crew members from the vessel jumping into what looked like well-choreographed action to get gear and people alike loaded on board.
Ten minutes later, Celia was standing on the deck of the USS Gramble-Goodley with her men and following them through a hatch into the bowels of the ship.
The captain himself led the way, with the Quong family between several of the Drunk Monkeys, Celia, Doc, Tango, and then the rest of the men. He opened the door on a large room that was likely used as a storeroom of some kind, based on the sturdy, but empty shelving units. Already, several cots and a few hammocks and bedrolls had been arranged inside the room and on some of the shelves. They’d be tight quarters for sleeping, but better that than on the run.
Celia felt sorry for the two young Quong daughters, who spoke no English and looked terrified as they huddled against their mother and grandmother.
“It won’t be the Ritz,” the captain told Papa, “but I know you all can make do. Sorry the civvies won’t be comfortable, but at least it’s safe.”
Dr. Quong shook the captain’s hand. “Thank you so much, Captain. You have no idea how much me and my family appreciate this.”
“You can pay me back by solving this Kite problem.” He turned to Papa. “We’ll be underway for at least a week. Routine patrols and stuff as we make our way to Hawaii. When we get into port, I want the civvies and any of your guys who don’t need to be moving around confined to this room and the head down the hall, got it? No one comes above-deck until I clear it. A couple of your guys can bring mess back to everyone else here if you all are stuck in here that long.”
“Got it,” Papa said.
“Good. I’ll have one of my guys come down here to give you a tour. I need the civvies confined to mess, head, and quarters during daylight hours while we’re underway. If they want up on deck at night for some air, we can arrange that as long as some of your guys are supervising them, but no unauthorized movements around the vessel for their own safety. And make sure those girls always have an adult with them at all times. Even for trips to the head. I don’t want them getting hurt or falling overboard.”
“No problem,” Papa assured him.
“I’ll scout up extra uniforms for your men. Once we’re in port and we know what the layout is, and your guy gets hold of his contact, we can arrange the transfer. I’d rather keep them on board and move out to sea again if I have to, rather than off-load them if it isn’t safe.”
“Thanks, Captain. We really appreciate it.”
He pulled Papa in for a hug. “For nobody but you, you know.”
“I know, and I appreciate it.”
The captain left them all there. They helped the Quongs get their belongings situated and settled in the cots at the larger end of the room, while leaving the hammocks and bedrolls for themselves. When Celia offered to take a hammock and let one of the men have a bedroll on a shelf, Doc and Tango shook their heads.
“Oh, no,” Doc told her. “This way.”
While the transfer of their gear had been happening, apparently Doc or Tango had managed to acquire a sheet they’d stretched across an oddly angled corner at the far end of the room. It’d be a snug fit, but the three of them had two bedrolls shoved together for themselves.
“Aw, it’s like a suite,” she said, relieved to see her luggage had made it. She set her carry-on bag with her laptop and other gear on top of her bag.
They pulled the makeshift curtain closed. “Okay, serious time. You need to send one last e-mail to your buddy. Make sure to address him as Mike. And you have to pull the battery on the sat-phone.”
“What? Why?”
“They’re going to try to trace you,” Tango said. “You need to send him a message that you’re still looking for information, that you got information that proves the doc is in Melbourne, you’ve already missed him once by minutes, and when you find out where he is, you’ll get back to Mike. It needs to come from an Oz connection.”
“But Mike already knows what’s going on. Why go through the trouble to do that?”
“To throw people off your trail and keep Mike and your sister safe,” Doc said. “You don’t think they’ll try coming after us again once they figure out they screwed up and we all got away? Let everyone think you got hung up in what will be a mass exodus. Total chaos.”
“What about Carole?”
Tango shook his head. “Nope. You can’t put her or her family at risk. Let Mike handle it from his end. Once you send the e-mail, disable the Wi-Fi and sat-link on your laptop so no one can ping it.”
Digging into her bag, she pulled out her sat-phone, yanked the battery, and then put it away again. “Okay?”
Tango smiled. “Perfect.”
She dug out her laptop and found she had a Wi-Fi signal from one of the nearby public sat-link feeds. After thinking, she tapped out a message and let the men read it first.
Mike,
He is here! Missed him by minutes last night, have proof and witnesses he’s here. Have several more leads and will follow up with them this morning. Will e-mail you later with what I find.
Ce.
Doc nodded after reading it. “Perfect.”
“So what do we do now?”
The men smiled. “For now,” Doc said, “you put that computer away and we actually get some restful sleep for the first time in a few weeks.”
“Amen to that,” Tango said.
She was about to drift to sleep comfor
tably nestled between her men when she had another question. “Tango, why did he accuse you of being a diva?”
“Because I used to be stationed on a supercarrier,” he said. “Small special ops team on board. I came over to SOTIF from there.” He smiled. “I can’t help it if anything else feels like a step down. We could launch airplanes from the deck for chrissake. This…this is like a toy rowboat.”
“Diva,” Doc said.
“Asshole,” he playfully shot back.
She grabbed their hands and held them to her chest. “Shut your pie holes, monkeys. Time for bed.”
And with that, exhausted, they enjoyed sleeping their first totally stress-free night together. Rather, what was left of it.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Celia didn’t know what time it was when she awoke several hours later, still safely tucked between Doc and Tango in their makeshift nest. The large room they were all sharing had no portholes, and someone had kept most of the lights turned off. From the sound of soft and not-so-soft snores, there were other Monkeys who’d taken advantage of the respite to catch some rack time. Someone had plugged a music player into a speaker. Soft, jazzy music she couldn’t identify was playing just loudly enough to mask most of the noises.
Enough to give them a little privacy.
For the first time in several days, Celia felt like she could actually relax and not be staring over her shoulder.
Or worried about Doc and Tango.
Well, or any of the other guys, truth be told. The more she got to know them, the more it really had begun to feel like a family.
Even Q, as everyone had started calling Dr. Quong.
Can’t be a Monkey without a code name.
From what she understood, Dr. Quong’s family would be moved elsewhere, outside of Q’s knowledge. Someplace safe.
As safe as they could be sharing the world with Kite.
She felt Doc stir next to her, rolling onto his side and nuzzling the top of her head. “Good morning, sweetheart.” His voice, thick with sleep, pulled every good thing from deep within her soul and made her want to spend the rest of her life in his arms. His, and Tango’s.
But sleepyhead let out a snore next to them.
His loss.
She’d make it up to him later.
She rolled over on top of Doc, kissing him. He slid his hands down to her ass, grabbing and squeezing, his morning hard-on pressing against her.
Atta boy.
The way their little private alcove was angled from the rest of the room, and with all the extra gear and luggage stacked up in front of their curtain, she wasn’t afraid of anyone seeing what they were doing.
Hearing, however…
She’d have to be quiet.
Still kissing her, he rolled them to their sides, which bumped her against Tango. He let out another snore, which made her giggle.
I’ll steal these moments when I can. They’d be on the run for who knew how long. Stolen moments like these might be sweet memories depending on what the future threw at them.
Doc slipped his fingers inside the waistband of her pajama pants and shoved them and her panties down her thighs. Then, with agility she didn’t know the man possessed, he rolled her completely onto her back and smiled down at her in the dim light.
That was when he blew her a kiss.
She giggled. That, apparently, was enough to wake Tango.
“What the hell?” he mumbled.
They both shushed him, which apparently struck some part of his sleepy brain and rang a gong.
His eyes popped open. “Ah,” he whispered. Then he was kissing her while Doc sat up and finished pulling her bottoms all the way off her.
She thought he’d take advantage and go to town, but apparently he decided otherwise. He pushed her thighs apart and bent between her legs.
Then she was really glad Tango was kissing her, muffling her moans, helping her stay quiet while Doc’s skilled tongue quickly brought her over.
Only then did he sit up, unzip his pants, and shove them and his briefs far enough down his hips he could slide his stiff cock home inside her ready cunt. He braced himself on his arms above her, filling her, fucking her.
Tango had one of his hands busy, too, playing with her nipples, back and forth.
She wished they could do more, but she knew the last thing she wanted to do was face an angry mother or grandmother trying to keep the girls’ ears covered.
Her body responded to them. With the feel of Doc’s cock fucking her so right and so well, she shoved aside all thoughts of the future and enjoyed everything about that moment. She wished she could capture it permanently in her mind, the sound of their breaths, the taste of their flesh, the pleasure they had managed to draw from her after only such a short time together.
Even better, the pleasure she knew she gave them.
No, she had no doubts about how they felt. The way they looked at her, the way they touched her, the way they talked to her, they telegraphed it with every look, every kiss. These two hunks could have any woman they wanted, whenever they wanted.
And they wanted her.
This was the right choice.
Doc slowed his thrusts a little, more of a sensual grind now, she opened her eyes. His raised eyebrows posed a silent question to her. With her clit already swollen and sensitive from his earlier oral attention, she rocked her hips against him, trying to find that sweet spot, that perfect angle.
She loved how he worked with her, both of them did, waiting on her, patient. No rushing, no making her feel guilty. Focused on her.
Another reason she knew they weren’t lying. No, she knew all men weren’t like the ones she’d met. Maybe Chicago just had a crappy crop of them unless you had looks like Carole.
Slowly, with Doc’s patience, another release began to build inside her. The sweet tension increased, growing stronger, swelling. As it did, her fingers wrapped around Doc’s upper arm, his smile gradually widening as he realized she was building up to another climax. She wanted to moan, to cry out, to yell with joy and pleasure and had to breathe all those things out through Tango’s mouth so as not to reveal what they were doing.
The pleasure finally burst inside her, her climax making her pussy squeeze Doc’s cock. His sharp intake of breath told her he was close, had been holding back. He sped up, his thrusts harder, faster, deeper, until he let out a soft gasp and fell still, his eyes dropping closed.
She drew in a long, deep breath and let it out again before Tango finally lifted his mouth from hers.
He wore a grin which she knew exactly what it meant.
His turn.
Doc leaned in and kissed her, sweetly, before withdrawing and rolling off to her other side. Tango quickly took his place while Doc cradled her against him.
Then he slid one hand down to her clit while he kissed her.
Oh, boy.
They were determined to get at least one more out of her. She wouldn’t try to deter them. They enjoyed doing this. The last thing she wanted them to do was stop.
Tango fucked her, his technique different in a good way. His cock was a little shorter, but a little wider in girth than Doc’s, and he filled her as perfectly as his partner had.
And with Doc’s persistent finger on her clit, she had no choice but to lie back and enjoy it. Tango’s blue eyes stared down at her, intent, watching her face even as Doc kissed her.
After a few minutes, with Tango’s slow and steady thrusts, combined with Doc’s assist, she felt another orgasm build inside her. Working together, the men sensed her building up again and coaxed it from her, both of them reading her body and picking up the tempo the closer she grew to climax.
And then…
She closed her eyes, once again squeezing, this time Tango’s arm, as she breathed through it and tried not to moan.
Then she was tucked between the two of them, ready to drift off to sleep once more, until she realized she was lying there without pants and needed to clean up the two loads of
cum they’d just dumped inside her.
When she started to sit up, Tango hooked an arm around her. “No you don’t,” he mumbled, almost sounding like he was going to sleep again, too. “I’m comfortable.”
She managed to wiggle out from under his arm and find her pants. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered.
She found and grabbed her towel and washcloth. After ducking around the curtain and picking her way past the equipment, she spotted Papa near the room’s door, half sitting up against a wall. His eyes opened just enough for him to smile and tip her a brief two-fingered salute from his temple.
Her face heated, knowing he knew.
She hurried to the head, used the toilet, cleaned up and did a quick wipe-down sponge bath to make her feel a little more human, and then pulled her clothes back on.
Should have grabbed my toothbrush.
Oh, well. The men both had morning breath, too. Or afternoon breath. Or whatever time it was. Her internal clock was so messed up now, it didn’t matter. They had scheduled shower time later. She didn’t want to push her welcome there and take one now.
Staring into the mirror, she spotted her red hair sticking out everywhere from where it’d come loose from her braid.
Dammit. She looked like a mess. She pulled out the elastic band, finger-combed it as best she could, and then rebraided it.
Better.
Not by much, but if the men could still look at her with that much love in their eyes when she looked like frigging Medusa, she supposed they had to be crazy over her.
Or maybe just plain crazy.
Truth was, she didn’t care. She’d take them just the way they were.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Later that evening, after their showers and before their meal that was really late for them, due to their messed-up schedule from that morning, Celia sat on the deck with Doc while the cool breeze blew over them and they stared at a sea of stars above them. Tango was somewhere below and would join them shortly.
“So, where do we go from here?” Celia asked.
“You mean after Hawaii?”
She nodded.