“Krista, no matter what they told you, it doesn’t need to be this way.” Logan held up his hands. “We don’t want to hurt you. We want both of you safe. There’s a way out of this. You don’t have to go back to them. Come with us. You’ll be safe from them, finally. They don’t even have to know we have you with us. We can make it look like there was an accident, like the boat exploded and took you with it. Whatever you need. You can start a new life.”
Jace’s eyes darted back and forth between the girls. Would it work? It was so obvious Krista wanted it to be true. He couldn’t imagine the sort of misery this girl had grown up with— enough misery that she found in her to murder men who meant her no harm, so much that she could hold a hunting knife to her twin sister’s throat.
“Krista, he’s a good man. They’re all good men. They’re not lying to you. Please, I want you to come with us. It doesn’t have to be like this.” Tears rolled down Kara’s cheeks, rolling off the knife and mingling with the blood still trickling down her throat. “We can be together again. We’ll eat Rocky Road until it makes us sick. We’ll watch movies and listen to music. And we’ll just talk and talk about everything we wanted to tell each other all this time. Please, Krista, it can be so good.”
“Shut up,” Krista grunted. The hand holding the knife trembled. “Just shut up! That’s your idea of a good life, not mine!”
“Then take me.” William stood with his arms outstretched to either side. “Take me, instead. Don’t hurt your sister. She had nothing to do with this. I’ve hurt her so much—her and your mom and you. Punish me, baby. So long as you let her live and be safe, I don’t care anymore.”
Jace and Logan exchanged a glance. Jace looked back to Kara, whose eyes bulged.
Krista’s eyes narrowed. “You’re serious?”
“I’m the reason all this happened. I put the whole thing in motion years ago when you weren’t more than a baby. You’ve been paying for my stupidity all these years. It’s only right. I deserve this. Please, let Kara go. Give me what I deserve.”
Jace held his breath, as he was fairly sure everyone did. What would she do? Would she go for it? How quickly could they get off a shot at her?
Would Kara ever forgive him if he shot her sister?
There was no time to make a decision. Krista forced his hand.
She shoved Kara to the deck with a grunt, dropping the knife in favor of reaching for the pistol at her waist.
Jace reached for his own.
Krista raised her arm, firing at her father.
Jace shoved him aside while raising his own weapon, taking a millisecond to aim before firing at the girl.
An instant later, hot, burning pain exploded in his midsection. He staggered but remained on his feet, watching Krista fall to the deck with a cry.
Logan pulled the boat around, bringing it up alongside Krista’s boat. She was lying there, shot through the shoulder as Jace had deliberately wounded her. The gun and the knife were still on the deck, where Kara reached for them and tossed them overboard.
She then crawled to her sister, lying on her side. She raised her bound arms over Krista’s head, touching foreheads. “It’s okay,” she whispered, rocking her sister back and forth. “It’s all okay now. It’ll be all right.”
There was nothing Jace could do but watch the two of them, wrapped up in each other the way they had once been years ago.
“How are they?” Jace asked, rising from his chair in the hospital waiting room.
Laura Collins was shaken but managed to bear up with dignity the way she always had. “William has a concussion from when you pushed him, but of course, he’s grateful. The doctors want to keep him from observation overnight, just in case. Kara is just a little banged up, but nothing serious. They’ll finish checking up on her soon and will want to send her home.”
She looked him in the eye, biting her lip in indecision. “And Krista. I don’t understand what happened. How she—”
“It’s a lot to take in,” Jace assured her. “But she’s alive.”
“Thanks to you,” she smiled. “I’m sure not many people could’ve managed to take that sort of shot under fire, but you did. You only wounded her. Anyone else would’ve—”
“You don’t need to think about that,” he reminded her. “She was just as much a victim in this as anyone else.”
“I don’t know what she’ll do,” she confessed. “How the authorities want to deal with her.”
“I think if they can get through to her—I’m sure there are doctors who can—and she provides the information the authorities will want in regard to where these people operate, what their names are, how to find them, they’ll probably go pretty light on her. What she needs more than anything is the chance to start a life of her own.”
Laura’s smile was radiant. “Thanks to you. All thanks to you.” Before he knew what was happening, she had gathered him in her arms and was squeezing him for all she was worth. “Thank you. God bless you.”
She then backed away, frowning. “Wait. I thought you were shot. I heard Krista shot you.”
He managed to look confused. “Uh, no. I’m fine. As you can see. Not a mark on me.”
“I could’ve sworn…” She frowned, shaking her head. “I guess there was a lot of confusion.”
“Absolutely. It was madness for a minute there.” Especially when the bullet had been pulled from his stomach while he clenched his teeth hard enough that he was sure he’d crack them. A fresh t-shirt and nobody would ever know the difference.
“I’d better go to William,” she sighed. “I don’t know what’s going to become of us. I guess I don’t need to lay this at your feet, though, do I?”
He grinned, shrugging. “You have to lay it at somebody’s feet, and we’re not exactly strangers.”
“That’s true.” Her eyes narrowed, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Besides, I don’t think you’ll be a stranger after this.”
“You don’t think so?” he challenged with a wider smile than before.
“It’s up to you. I think she’s already hooked, but don’t tell her I told you so.” She winked before turning to walk down the hall.
He was chuckling to himself as he entered Kara’s room now that her mother had taken time alone with her.
And she was good and pissed, which told him she was doing fine.
“I need to get out of here,” she announced to the nurse taking her blood pressure.
“Miss, I’ll need you to take it easy while I’m doing this—”
“You already took my blood pressure twice. I’m fine. Wouldn’t you be a little worked up if somebody kidnapped you and held a knife to your throat? My blood pressure’s never been a problem before this.”
The poor nurse was beside herself. “Fine. Have it your way.”
“Careful,” Jace snickered. “You don’t want to tell her that.”
“Oh, you’re here to give me crap, too?” Kara demanded, eyeing him up and down.
“No, ma’am. Just here to take you home when you’re ready to go. I guess you’ve talked to your mom about your dad and Krista.”
“Yeah. I’m not giving up on her,” she whispered.
“Nobody thinks you have to,” he assured her. “It’s okay. You’re allowed to love her, no matter what. Love’s funny that way. It doesn’t make sense.”
“No. It most definitely doesn’t,” she agreed. “I mean, I still love my dad, even though he’s a lying jerkface.”
“I don’t think anybody could blame you for that.” He stood in front of her, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “You’re allowed to love him. He tried to give up his life for you. I don’t think there’s any doubt he was ready to go through with it. He loves you. He thought he was doing the right thing.”
“I know.” She leaned into his hand, tipping her head to the side and letting her eyes slide shut. “And I know you jumped in front of that bullet for him.”
“I didn’t! I wasn’t shot.”
“Jace. Get the hell out of here.” Just like that, her eyes snapped open, her head straightened. “You’re wearing a different shirt, for one thing, and I have eyes. Eyes I used to see you with blood all over the shirt you were wearing before. Eyes that saw a hole in that shirt. And ears, so I could hear you trying not to make too much noise while somebody pulled a slug from your gut.”
“You really, truly need to go to law school,” he decided, wrapping his arms around her. “And you need to start dancing again. For sure.”
“Is that how it’s gonna be from now on?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “You think you can tell me what to do, and I’m just gonna fall in line?”
“Like I said,” he grinned, pulling her closer while he positioned himself between her legs. “Love’s funny like that. We end up doing and saying things we never thought possible.”
“You love me?” she whispered as light flickered to life behind her eyes.
“Absolutely, I do. Not for your name or for how goddamn breathtaking you are. Not because of your money or your connections. You could lose all of that tomorrow, and I’d still be your slave. Your soul and mine are meant for each other. I knew it the second I laid eyes on you that night in the driveway. You can almost run me over any day, Kara Collins.”
“Careful,” she giggled softly, wrapping her legs around his hips. “Keep driving me crazy the way you do, and I might take you up on that. My love.”
“My love,” he breathed an instant before their lips touched.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“You’re sure you wouldn’t rather go home?”
Kara shook her head. “For the hundredth time, no. I wanna be with you right now. I can’t stand the thought of being alone at home.”
“You wouldn’t have to be alone.”
“Without you, okay? I don’t wanna be without you. I can’t say it any more plainly than that, can I?” She turned to him, arms folded.
“Okay, okay. I just have to file some paperwork and maybe thank Val and the others for their help today. We couldn’t have done it without them.” Jace squeezed her knee, a gesture she found ridiculously comforting.
Just being with him was comforting, knowing he saw her for who she was and loved her anyway, knowing he wanted what was best for her and that he trusted and respected her. On and on, so many reasons why she’d rather be with Jace than with anyone else.
When they arrived at the familiar building in the ugly little complex, there were no cars parked outside. “I didn’t think everybody would go home already,” Jace muttered, frowning.
“They’ve all been working so hard,” she reasoned. “They could use a night off.”
“That’s true. I know I could.” Even so, he got out of the truck. She followed, turning her face away when he punched numbers into a keypad to unlock the doors.
The room that had been bustling with life and energy when she’d visited was now dark. Empty. The bulletin board had been cleared. She ran her hand over it, knowing somebody else’s life would take the place of hers soon enough.
Jace approached from behind, sliding his arms around her waist. That was nice, the steadiness of his body behind hers. “You okay?”
“I will be. Thanks to you.” She closed her eyes, sighing softly as his lips found her throat. They were soft at first, gentle, but soon his kiss became more demanding.
Fire stirred to life inside her. She reached back, cupping his neck. “Yes, Jace,” she whispered, leaning against him when her legs wouldn’t hold her anymore. “Yes.”
“I need you,” he growled, making her weaker than ever. “I need you now.”
“Yes,” she whispered again, turning in his arms, sliding her body against his.
“No, I mean it,” he grunted, pulling away just enough to look into her eyes. “I need you. Here and now. I can’t hold back anymore. I’ve fought it, but I can’t fight now.”
“I don’t want you to fight.” She slid her hands between them, tracing the ripples of his chest and abs, her breath quickening when he groaned at her touch. “I’m yours. All yours.”
He picked her up without another word, carrying her to his desk and lowering her to it. She worked his shirt over his head, giving herself the chance to take in the sight and taste and scent of him as her hands and lips roamed over firm, smooth skin.
Her heart pounded, and so did his. She felt it under her palm when she rested it on his chest. He lifted it, kissing the palm before lowering it to the obvious bulge in his jeans. “I’ve been fighting this, too,” he growled, practically panting.
For her. All for her. She squeezed gently, pulling an animal sound from deep in his throat.
He pushed her back until she was flat against the desk, working her t-shirt up, freeing her breasts from their cups and lavishing them with his lips and tongue while unbuttoning her shorts. “So beautiful,” he rasped, looking up from her chest to find her watching him. The darkness in his eyes, in his voice, the complete worship he showed as he ran his fingers over her skin was sensual, erotic, setting her on fire in a way she never knew she could burn.
“I don’t know if I can be gentle,” he warned, his breath hot against her as he continued kissing and licking his way over her, lower and lower.
“I don’t want gentle,” she groaned, then gasped when his tongue hit her aching pearl. He teased her and himself, grunting and moaning while working her into a frenzy. She moaned his name time and again as he feasted until she had no choice but to shout in ecstasy, the world exploding all around her and leaving her trembling, breathless, weak.
He leaned over her, kissing her softly, his need pressing against her inner thigh. “Yes?” he whispered, looking deep into her eyes.
It wasn’t just him in there, and she saw that now. The wolf was there, too, maybe closer to the surface than she’d ever seen him aside from their run-in on the beach. She knew without asking what this meant, what Jace might not even have fully known.
But the wolf knew. This was forever. There wouldn’t be anyone else after this.
She knew it, and she nodded. “Yes.” Because he was all she wanted. No one else, not ever. Nobody had ever brought her this sort of pleasure—not just physical but deeper, emotional. There was trust and love, and it was new for both of them. They could make sense of it together, she knew.
He thrust forward, finding her waiting, filling her. She gasped, still staring into his eyes, and the satisfaction she brought him was obvious. It made her move, working with him, urging him and the wolf to take what they wanted while she took what she needed.
“Yes, Jace. Yes…” She lost all control, her head swinging from side to side as her eyes closed, soaking in the sheer sensation. The joy of it, something she’d never known was possible.
He ran his nails down her sides, over her thighs, and for one heart-stopping second, she thought of claws tearing her skin—and it made her thrust harder against him, the image of him tearing her apart. She reached up, pulling herself to a sitting position while gripping his shoulders, holding onto him. Letting him hold her.
He grunted like an animal against her neck, louder with each harder, deeper thrust. “Kara… I’m…”
“Yes. Yes, Jace.” She looked into his eyes, their faces almost touching, their hot breath mingling. “Yes. Make me yours, always. Please.”
“Oh, God!” He lost all control, a howl ripping through him, filling the room, his thrusts slamming their bodies together. She held him tighter, her body convulsing in fresh climax, and when he lowered his mouth to her shoulder and bit down, she knew it was over.
It was just beginning.
She was his, always, and knowing it made her shudder as wave after wave of pleasure rocked her. He went still, spent, and they held onto each other for an eternity, locked together.
“I love you,” she breathed, holding the back of his head in her hand, planting soft kisses over his neck and shoulder. “I love you.”
“I would die for you, Kara,” he whispered, his lips a
gainst her ear. “Only you.”
Soon, it was clear they couldn’t stay that way forever. What if somebody else decided to come in to get some work done? Her face flushed at the thought, and at the knowledge that if a wolf walked in, they’d smell what had just taken place.
“That’s the best work I’ve ever done on this desk,” Jace snickered, pulling up his jeans. “I’m sorry our first time wasn’t more romantic. It should’ve been romantic. I couldn’t help myself.”
“I didn’t want you to help yourself.” She wound her arms around his neck, looking him in the eye. “That was perfect. And perfect for us, considering what brought us together. Your work. Champagne and roses and all that would be right for some other couple.”
“I’m starting to think you were made for me,” he grinned, kissing the tip of her nose.
Kara grinned back. “It took you that long to figure it out, huh?”
PART II
Chapter One
Braxton Hughes leaned back in his lounge chair, one forearm tucked behind his head while he held a very strong, very cold, very tropical drink. He’d stopped counting how many the staff had brought him hours earlier.
By this time, they were probably making bets to see how much he could drink before he either passed out or spewed his guts up. Wouldn’t they be surprised? He was a big guy as it was—always had been—but alcohol had little effect on him outside of providing a pleasant buzz.
If anything, it would’ve been nice to get drunk for once, to let go, to get out of his head and away from the wolf who shared space inside his skull.
The wolf that noticed every single piece of ass that walked past him on the beach, the scents of the women, their sun-warmed skin and the saltwater drying on it, suntan lotion and chlorine and that certain something that made women’s scents different from those of men.
He watched them from behind his sunglasses. Did they know he was watching? He decided they did. They had to know. They wanted him to watch, to notice the way they’d noticed him.
Wolf Shield Investigations: Boxset Page 25
