Racing Toward Love (Horses Heal Hearts Book 2)

by Kimberly Beckett

  Colin chuckled at her feeble attempts to escape. “Stop your struggling, sweetheart. You’re just getting me excited. He pressed his lower body into hers, and she could feel his erection against her buttocks. Shocked that her actions in attempting to injure him had instead aroused him, she ceased her struggles. Instead, she attempted to focus all her energy on using her mind to figure a way out of this. She had to get away from these men. It was certain that once they got her away from Ian, she would be raped and then killed.

  She nodded slightly to let Colin know she understood his threat. He walked her out of the ladies’ room and into the hall leading back to the alley. He then loosened his hold on her and took his hand away from her mouth, but he had one last warning.

  “If you alert anyone to our presence, or make any trouble for us, we’ll kill your boyfriend, Stafford. Understand?”

  Megan’s eyebrows shot up in alarm. They knew who Ian was, probably from a contact in the police department. Megan’s face flushed with anger, and she felt sick to her stomach at the betrayal. Obviously, one of the constables they had trusted with their story was on the O’Reilly payroll. That was how these men knew where she was and where they were keeping Biscuit. They would have to be even more careful now about their activities to ensure her family and horse’s safety. First, though, she had to get away from these men.

  Ian had been waiting at the bar for what seemed like an abnormally long time, and his instincts for danger went on high alert. He knew without a doubt that Megan was in danger, and he had to do something immediately. He abruptly left his place at the bar, and slowly and cautiously, he made his way to the back where the water closets were located.

  In the hall, three large men surrounded Megan, who appeared to be disheveled and frightened. One of the men was at her back, holding her against his body, and was whispering something in her ear that elicited a look of near panic. They were the same men he had confronted at the pub. This was no ordinary assault. These men had already proved themselves to be dangerous and willing to harm Megan to get what they wanted. They would kill if they thought it necessary.

  Megan looked up at just that moment, saw Ian, and shook her head to indicate to Ian he should not intervene.

  If you think I’m going to back off and leave you to these men, you don’t know me at all, love, Ian thought grimly. This was a situation he had been trained to handle. All he had to do was take out the man holding Megan, get her out of harm’s way, and cause enough of a fuss that the others would think it best to leave rather than fight, and Megan would be back in his arms. He liked that idea quite a lot.

  As soon as Colin saw Ian, he knew his operation was in trouble, but he hadn’t come this far to give up now.

  “Look, laddie,” he said in an attempt to placate Ian, “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the O’Reilly organization, but if you have, you’ll know we’re not easily thwarted, and we don’t tolerate anyone getting in our way. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll allow us to take the girl. We promise we won’t hurt her. We only need her for a few days—just until after the Derby. Then you can have her back without a hair on her head damaged.”

  Megan had been listening to the exchange and knew that Ian would not back down. Still, she had to try to get him to see reason. “Ian, please, let me go with these men. I believe them when they say they won’t hurt me,” she lied. “I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself to save me. It’s only one race. It’s not worth your life.”

  Ian knew Megan would rather sacrifice herself than have him or her family in any danger - it was an aspect of her character that he admired and appreciated - but he didn’t trust these men any further than he could throw them. He would never agree to allow them to have Megan at their mercy. He didn’t believe for a minute that these men wouldn’t rape Megan and then kill her once they got her away. If necessary, he would die before he would let that happen.

  Colin was getting impatient and knew the longer they delayed their departure, the more likely it was the authorities would arrive. Then all hell would break loose. “I’d love to stand here and chat with you some more, but I recommend you listen to the girl and let us go.” Just to ensure his message was clearly heard, he took a switchblade out of his pocket, flipped the blade open, and laid it against Megan’s throat. “In case you have any idea of acting the hero, know that if you make any moves to stop us, I’ll cut her.” He looked to his men. “Let’s go, lads.” He drew Megan with him to the back door.

  Ian had thought he had a chance to save Megan until he saw the switchblade pressed to Megan’s throat. At that moment, his heart began to race, the beats pounding in is head, and his chest constricted as if steel bands were tightening around it. He struggled to breathe through the immense feeling of panic that threatened to overwhelm him. Flashes of the day Neil died in his arms invaded his thoughts. He was going to lose Megan, just as he’d lost Neil. The idea paralyzed him. A person who had become dear to him, whom he was responsible for keeping safe, was being threatened. The last time he had been responsible for another person’s life, that person had died—killed in cold blood. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to Megan because of him.

  A part of him watched what was happening to his body in horror as he realized that unless he could mentally overcome his panicked paralysis, Megan was going to be abducted and possibly killed, and it would be his fault. At that thought, Ian’s face flushed red, and his body vibrated with rage. He took deep breaths, his hands clenched into fists, and he drew himself up, suddenly feeling tremendous power surge through his body. The hell with that! I’ll die before I let them take her.

  Ian drew on the rage and let it surge through his system, dominate, and beat back the fear. He could feel strength returning to his body. His breathing grew stronger and deeper, and his heart rate normalized.

  Megan had been watching as Ian’s once confident and aggressive stance collapsed before her eyes after the man holding her had produced a knife and threatened her with it. Was Stephen right? Was Ian working with O’Reilly and his men? Surely, he would be more interested in saving her than he appeared to be. Then she noticed that his face had paled and his fists were clenching and unclenching. Sweat poured from his face. Ian wasn’t cooperating with the O’Reilly men, he was experiencing some kind of panic attack. She realized that in this condition, he was not going be able to help her.

  She didn’t need Ian to save her. She was perfectly capable of saving herself. She mentally thanked her father for insisting she take a self-defense course and replayed in her head the process she had been taught for dealing with a stronger opponent when they were holding a her from behind with a knife to her throat.

  Before moving, she glanced at Ian, who appeared to have recovered from his initial reaction. In fact, she could feel what could only be described as pure rage emanating from him, and when he looked at the thug holding the knife against her throat, she could see a cold, calculating glare that frightened her on a primal level. She was finally getting a glimpse of the man who could kill an enemy as easily as he could tie his shoe. A chill of fear raced through her body, and at that moment, Megan was grateful and relieved that Ian was her ally and not her enemy.

  Ian then looked directly into her eyes, and his gaze softened. With just that quick glance, Ian communicated to Megan he was there for her, and he would do everything in his power, even sacrifice himself, before he would let these men take her. Megan’s heart swelled, and she resolved in that moment she wasn’t going to be the helpless female who relied solely upon the man in her life to save her from danger. This time, she knew her enemy and was more angry than afraid. These bastards weren’t going to take her, and they weren’t going to harm Ian—not today.

  She gathered her courage, met Ian’s gaze, and indicated with a determined glance back at her captor that she intended to initiate a self-defense move to escape
her captor.

  Ian correctly interpreted her gesture, and his first instinct was to wave her off somehow. Her attitude and confident gaze, however, stopped him from interfering. He was overcome with admiration. This was no shrinking violet; in fact, his woman was a formidable opponent. Yes, my woman. Ian was shocked to feel such a strong sense of protectiveness and possession of a woman he had only met so recently, but he wasn’t going to question the feeling now. He mentally prepared to assist her in whatever she was attempting to do. He sent her a concerned look but nodded slightly in cautious approval.

  Before Colin could take another step in the direction of the back door, Megan threw her head back directly into his face, the impact crushing Colin’s already broken nose. The surprise, coupled with the pain of the impact, caused him to release his hold on her body. As Colin’s hold on her loosened, Megan used both hands to shove Colin’s knife hand out and away from her body. She then bent over and used her hips to push Colin’s body further away and to keep him off balance. Using the freedom created by her back-thrusting hips, Megan then struck backward with her fist directly into Colin’s groin. When he collapsed in pain, Ian was on him in an instant, kicking the knife out of his hand.

  “Megan, go tell the bartender to call the police!” Ian shouted.

  Megan quickly ran to do as she was told but cast a worried look back at Ian. As soon as she relayed the message to the bartender, she grabbed an empty beer bottle to use as a makeshift weapon and returned to Ian. There was no way she was leaving him alone again with these criminals.

  By this time, the other two thugs were advancing on Ian, who had placed himself directly between the men and Megan, but he was now in full battle mode, ready for whatever the two of them had to offer. The cramped hallway left Colin’s men little room to maneuver, and, remembering what kind of damage this man had done to them back at the Rusty Nail, both men decided not to engage. Instead, they grabbed Colin, picked up his knife, and rushed out the back to their waiting car. Just as the car sped away, police sirens sounded in the distance, and soon thereafter, the police arrived.

  Ian and Megan met with the police and quickly explained what had happened, however they avoided identifying the men as O’Reilly gang members. Implicating O’Reilly would have led to more questions, and police involvement at this point in the Bradys’ situation would only complicate matters, not solve them. Not to mention the fact that it appeared the O’Reillys had a constable on their payroll. It wouldn’t do to give the police any more information than was necessary to make a report. The police reported the matter as an attempted assault, foiled by the victim and her escort. Since the forensics team that arrived soon after the police determined that perpetrators hadn’t left any fingerprints or other identifying traces, the police couldn’t do anything more.

  Chapter 14

  Megan had done her best to stay calm while speaking with the police. She had even kept her composure when Ian left her to bring the car around to take her back to his uncle’s home. Now that she was alone with Ian in the quiet of his car, the enormity of what had happened to her, and the fact that she had nearly been abducted by a ruthless crime gang, quite possibly to be raped then killed, hit her. She began to feel cold and to shake uncontrollably. Her body’s delayed reaction frightened her. She looked at Ian with fear and confusion.

  Ian noticed right away that Megan was experiencing delayed shock. Having experienced this kind of shock after missions, Ian knew what to do. He pulled off the road, stopped the car, and unbuckled his seat belt. He turned to Megan, reached across her to unbuckle her seat belt as well, and pulled her into his arms. Annoyed because the car’s center console was preventing him from fully holding her, Ian disengaged, calmly reassured Megan he would be back, and exited the car. He ran quickly around to the passenger door, opened it, and drew Megan out of the car into his embrace.

  Megan relaxed into Ian’s arms and began sobbing into his chest. He stroked her hair and murmured soothing words to her, allowing her to cling to him for support. When her crying eventually subsided, she looked up at Ian.

  “Ian, what’s wrong with me? I know the immediate danger is past, but I’m frightened. I feel like every nerve is firing, yet I’m cold and can’t stop shaking.” She clung to his body with an intensity he knew came from her realization of how close she had come to serious harm. He wrapped her firmly in his strong, capable arms so that she knew he was not letting go until she was ready.

  He kissed the top of her head and continued to stroke her back with his hands in an attempt to calm her. He took a handkerchief out of his back pocket and used it to gently dry her tears. “It’s all right, love. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere. What you’re feeling is normal. This is just a delayed reaction to everything that’s happened. Just relax, take some deep breaths, and let me hold you. It will pass.”

  Megan nodded against Ian’s chest. His heart beat loud and strong under her ear. He felt so solid and alive. His scent surrounded her. It was some kind of pine, but with a hint of citrus, that stimulated her senses, making her even more aware of him. Her body warmed and she felt herself crave a closer connection with the man who had once again saved her life. It was then she noticed that she had soaked the front of his shirt with her crying. She hid her face, which she assumed was probably red and splotchy, against his neck.

  “I’m so embarrassed,” she said. “You are so calm and collected about the whole thing, and I’m a wreck.”

  Ian smiled. “I did this kind of thing for a living for several years, Megan. I’m more accustomed to life-threatening situations than you could possibly be. Even at that, I’m embarrassed to say, and I think you noticed, that initially I froze when I saw your life was in danger. I almost couldn’t come to your aid because of it. The only thing that snapped me out of it was seeing you at the mercy of that bastard. It brought out the beast in me, I must confess.”

  “Yes, I saw the look you gave him. Quite frankly, it frightened me.”

  “I hope you know I’ll never look at you that way,” Ian said. “I would never, ever harm you.”

  “I know that, Ian,” Megan said, smiling up at him. Her tremors had subsided under his tender ministrations. “I’m feeling much better now. Thank you.”

  “It was my pleasure,” Ian responded, returning her smile.

  It was then that Megan recalled Ian’s initial reaction to her kidnappers. “Why did you freeze back there? I’m happy to listen if there’s anything you want to talk about.”

  The last thing Ian wanted to do was share his weakness with the woman he was growing to care about. Although instinctively he knew he would have to explain at some point why he had frozen when confronted with the O’Reilly man’s threat to Megan, Ian wanted to wait for a better time. Maybe with time, his symptoms would go away completely, and he would never have to reveal his shame to Megan. As these thoughts swirled through his mind, Ian’s demeanor immediately cooled. He pulled away from Megan and avoided meeting her gaze.

  “It’s not something I’m ready to talk about right now,” he said. Noticing that she looked hurt and confused, he added, “If I ever change my mind, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

  Disappointed that she had essentially pushed Ian away with her offer, Megan struggled to regain the closeness they had just shared. “It’s OK if you don’t want to share your experience with me,” she said. “I just wanted you to know that if it will help, I’m here to listen.”

  “Thanks. I may take you up on that someday,” Ian responded. He casually brushed her hair back behind her ear, while his gaze was drawn to her full, soft lips. Before he gave himself time to think, he lowered his head. His lips took hers, at first hungry yet searching, as if unsure of her reception. She stiffened in surprise but quickly softened and warmed to his touch, inviting him into her warm, welcoming mouth. Her arms slowly moved up his chest to wrap around his neck, running her finge
rs through his soft, close-cropped hair.

  Megan’s eager response took Ian by surprise. The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized that in the wake of her stressful brush with danger, her adrenaline was running high, and she was instinctively looking for some kind of release. In his experience, after a particularly challenging mission, he would experience the same kind of adrenalin rush, and, because in a military context sexual release wasn’t always practical or safe, he had found his release by lifting weights or running—anything to diffuse the excess tension.

  He also remembered that after an operation, his senses were ultra-sensitive. It was no surprise that Megan was reacting to him the way she was. Megan had shown him in numerous ways how passionate, courageous, and unselfish she was. It was Megan who decided to engage directly with a dangerous criminal organization to let them know, in no uncertain terms, her family would not bow to threats. It was Megan who, just this afternoon, braved a threat to her life to confront and help him physically subdue the criminals. Many other women would have fainted or panicked, but not his Megan. My Megan. Yes, I like the sound of that. Ian ignored the warnings flashing through his brain at that inner thought and continued to pursue Megan.

  Wanting to make sure she knew how much he wanted to make her his, Ian deepened the kiss, holding Megan even closer to his body. He was certain she could feel his erection against her stomach, but she didn’t flinch. In fact, she arched her body against him and moaned into his mouth. Ian broke off the kiss to trail small, delicate kisses along Megan’s jawline and then down her neck.