Disillusioned

by Christy Barritt

While Nikki borrowed his phone to call Marti, Kade slipped outside. He needed to move the SUV. He knew just the place to put it: an old garage located at the back of the property. He hoped to get the bay door open and stick the vehicle in where it would be out of sight.

  No one should venture down this road. The driveway was long, private, and had woods that sprung up on either side. But he had to be careful and keep in mind that there were no certainties here. He had to stay alert. Have a plan to run. Be ready for anything.

  There were so many unknowns. The owner could return to check on the property, new renters could show up at the last minute, or maybe they had a neighbor who regularly cut the grass.

  Kade used a kit from his bag to pick the lock to the garage and then backed the SUV inside. As he climbed out, leaving the keys in the ignition, he glanced beyond the tools and lawn equipment stored in the space. He pulled the cover off something against the wall and smiled.

  It was a Harley. A beautiful one at that. He ran his hand over the leather seat. Across her shiny chrome. Her shiny metal body.

  He’d always wanted one of these. He’d almost gotten one when he’d been dating Nikki, but she’d begged him not to. She’d said they were too dangerous.

  One look into her eyes, and he’d complied. She’d had that effect on him. He was usually purposeful and liked making his own decisions. But being with Nikki had made him feel he was part of a team. It made him want to do what was best for both of them, even if it meant sacrifice.

  He put the cover back on, knowing he had better things to do than admire the bike and relive old memories. As he stepped toward the door, his skin crawled.

  He paused and ducked back inside.

  Something had alerted him. But without looking again, he wasn’t sure what it was. He only knew his gut had told him to be on guard.

  Slowly he peered out again.

  He didn’t see anything. Only the woods with its dark recesses. The wind gently swaying the grass. A swing on the gazebo gliding back and forth.

  What was it that had caught his eye?

  He remained where he was, drawing on every ounce of his patience. He kept his gaze focused on the edge of the woods.

  Had it just been the shadow of a tree branch? A wild animal?

  As Kade watched, a man emerged from the woods, moving as if something was on his tail. He darted toward the house, his gun drawn, and pressed himself against the wall near the back door.

  Kade’s heart leapt into his throat.

  He recognized the man. It was Pierce Stark.

  He’d found them.

  Kade had to help Nikki. Now.

  CHAPTER 29

  Just as Nikki ended her call with Marti, she heard the back door open. Kade must be coming back inside after moving the SUV.

  She stood, stretched, and then stepped into the kitchen. When she saw who was standing there, she dropped the ceramic coffee mug in her hands. It shattered into dozens of pieces at her feet.

  The broken slivers looked like her soul felt.

  “Pierce,” she muttered.

  A cocky grin spread across his face. He held his gun out at his side, but lowered it as he stepped toward her. “So we meet again.”

  “How’d you find us?” Her voice quivered.

  He shrugged. “I have my ways.”

  “You’re alone.” She stepped back, her hands behind her, searching for anything she might be able to use as a weapon. “Why?”

  “You’re really not in a good position to ask a lot of questions right now, Nikki. Then again, you’ve always had a mind of your own.” Something dark glimmered in his eyes.

  “And that’s always bothered you, hasn’t it?” She hit the wall and sucked in a breath. She was trapped. No weapon. And Pierce had a gun.

  Where was Kade? Had Pierce hurt him? Done even worse—had he killed him?

  Nausea roiled in her stomach at the thought.

  Lord, I haven’t talked to you in a long time. But if You are out there, and if You love me at all, will You protect Kade? Please?

  Pierce stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Where’s your friend?”

  Hope surged in her heart. Kade was okay! Pierce didn’t realize he’d slipped outside.

  Thank you, Jesus.

  She was doing what she’d always vowed not to do: bargaining with God in her desperate moments. If God was real, He was real in the good moments and the bad ones. She didn’t have time to analyze the thought now, though.

  “I asked you a question,” Pierce growled. “I know you didn’t leave him in Cape Thomas.”

  Nikki gathered her courage. “He went to the store for some supplies.”

  Pierce stepped closer, close enough that she could feel his body heat. He ran the tip of the gun along her jaw. “I always thought we were good together, Nikki.”

  “You were wrong,” she seethed.

  Despite the anger that slipped to the surface, a quiver of fear had started at her core.

  She knew the pain this man was capable of inflicting. She remembered lying on the floor begging for mercy. She remembered feeling so broken that she could hardly move to bandage herself.

  That familiar fear rose like bile in her, making her entire body flinch. Fear that Pierce would kill her one day.

  This might be his chance.

  Run, Kade. Run.

  She didn’t believe in mental telepathy, but she wished it was real at the moment. Pierce would take his time hurting Nikki. But he would shoot Kade without a second thought.

  “What was that?” Pierce’s face hardened.

  “I said you were wrong.” She would have never muttered something like that four years ago. She’d fear his punishment. She was still scared now, but she was ready to face her fears.

  She raised her chin despite Pierce’s glare. The next instance his hand connected with her cheek.

  She let out a gasp as pain stung her face. Before she could say anything, he grabbed her cheeks and squeezed them, rendering her unable to speak.

  “You really thought this whole time that you were going to get away with this? You didn’t think I’d find you?” Pierce sneered, clutching her face so hard she thought her bones would snap.

  Her breaths came fast as panic overtook her entire body. Every part of her quaked in anticipation of the coming pain she’d experienced many times before. Her body had been programmed to prepare for the worst when Pierce was around.

  “Where’s Kade?” His cold eyes bored holes through her.

  Nikki couldn’t let on that he was outside. “Like I said, he went to get some supplies.”

  “When will he be back?”

  “Maybe an hour. I don’t know. Forget about him. Just take me. I’m the one you want, and he’s innocent in all of this.” Her heart pounded in her ears.

  His eyes still soaked her in, looking nearly black. Evil. Calculating. Soulless.

  She didn’t want to know what was going through his mind. It was too dark to imagine.

  How he’d ever become an FBI agent was beyond her. He’d even fooled the best of the best. Maybe she shouldn’t feel so bad.

  Pierce was calculating. He showed one side of himself when it worked to his advantage. He saved the dark side . . . well, mostly for her, it seemed.

  His finger trailed down her neck and over her collarbone. She cringed, wanting to get away from his touch. Each time she felt his skin against hers, she mentally relived the nightmare their marriage had been. She flinched as she thought of his beatings, his insults, the way he had belittled her.

  She’d never put herself in that position again. Never.

  Real men didn’t exert power over others like this.

  Pierce had never been a real man.

  Fury burst through her blood like hot lava as every memory of Pierce abusing her bubbled to the top.

  “Too bad we don’t have a little time for some fun before I take you in.” Jerking her away from the wall, he twisted an arm behind her. He pressed the gun into her rib cage. “Come o
n. Let’s go.”

  Anger grew inside Kade until his entire body burned. He didn’t know what Pierce had done to Nikki in the past; he only knew that he’d hurt her. Whatever he’d done, the man still held a certain power over her.

  It took a small, insignificant man to hurt a woman just to make himself feel powerful.

  Kade stared at the scene from the shadows. The fear in Nikki’s eyes right now crushed his heart. He wanted nothing more than to fly from his hiding spot like a caveman trying to scare away predators from his homestead. But he had to be more measured than that.

  He had his gun aimed. The problem was that shooting Pierce could put Nikki’s life in danger as well. The bullet would go through Pierce and harm her, too. He couldn’t let that happen.

  But remaining in the dark corner of the house and watching Pierce lord power over Nikki made him feel beside himself.

  If he hadn’t broken up with her, she would have never run to Pierce.

  This was Kade’s fault. He’d thought he was doing what was best for her by leaving, but now he could see with clarity the error of his ways.

  He slipped farther into the shadows as Pierce dragged Nikki toward the door.

  He only had one chance to stop this, he realized. This was quickly becoming one of the most important missions in his life. Mostly because it involved the woman he loved.

  Yes, loved.

  He’d known for a long time that he’d never stopped loving Nikki.

  Just as Pierce walked past the doorway, Kade brought the butt of his gun down on his forehead.

  Pierce moaned but didn’t drop as Kade had hoped. Still, the distraction gave Nikki the opportunity to escape. She fell to the floor, out of Pierce’s grasp, and began crawling away.

  Pierce let out a curse and swung his fist toward Kade. Kade ducked, dodging his punch. Before Pierce could recover from the swing, Kade kicked, knocking him off his feet.

  Kade glanced down at Nikki and saw that she had pulled her knees to her chest and pressed herself against the cabinets, visibly trembling. But at least she was out of reach . . . safe. For the moment, at least.

  Pierce jammed his foot into Kade’s knee, knocking the gun from his hand. The Glock skittered to the floor, and both men eyed it.

  Pierce was going to get to it first, Kade realized. He couldn’t let that happen.

  Just as Pierce dove for the gun, Kade tackled him. The two men clattered onto the floor, a ball of muscles, swinging limbs, and adrenaline.

  This was one battle Kade wasn’t about to lose. If he did, Nikki would die.

  “Stop it!”

  Both men turned toward the voice. Nikki stood over them with the gun raised, pointed at Pierce. Her hands were shaky, unsteady.

  She could easily pull that trigger, Kade realized. And no one would blame her.

  But he knew Nikki. She’d carry that burden with her for the rest of her life.

  “You will not hurt him, Pierce,” she said. Her voice sounded surprisingly strong beneath the clatter of her teeth. Something close to vengeance filled her gaze. “That’s all you’re good at: hurting people. It’s time for that to end.”

  Slowly Kade backed away from Pierce and eased toward her. “I’ll take the gun, Nikki.”

  Her gaze remained on Pierce. “He deserves to pay.”

  “He does. But let the justice system do that.”

  “The justice system is messed up. Guilty people walk free every day. All they have to do is have the right lawyer.”

  “If you kill a federal agent, you’re going to go to prison.” He put his hand over the gun. “You don’t want to do that, Nikki. He’s not worth giving up the rest of your life for.”

  She stared at Pierce still, but something broke in her gaze. Kade realized he was getting through to her.

  “You don’t have the guts to pull the trigger.” Pierce wiped the blood from his mouth. “You’re weak.”

  Whatever had broken in her gaze returned. Her hold on the gun tightened, and she readjusted her aim to focus squarely on Pierce’s heart.

  Kade knew he didn’t have any more time. He pried the gun from her hands and pushed her behind him. “It’s going to be okay,” he murmured.

  Nikki stared another moment, nearly frozen, before burying her face in her hands and backing away. The reality of what she’d almost done seemed to hit her at full force.

  Now Kade had to figure out what to do with Pierce. He’d like nothing more than to seek his own kind of revenge on the man for hurting the woman he loved. But he couldn’t do that.

  Instead, he punched him squarely in the face.

  Pierce sank to the floor, his eyes closed, unconscious.

  They had to run. Now.

  CHAPTER 30

  Nikki was still in a daze, still staring at Pierce’s motionless body, when Kade grabbed her hand.

  “Come on!”

  She snapped out of her stupor. They had to get out of here before Pierce woke up. This wasn’t the time to lose it.

  Moving quickly, they ran to the garage. As Nikki watched, Kade threw the cover off a motorcycle, straddled the seat, and began playing with the wires near the ignition.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Hot wiring the bike.”

  “Why don’t we just take the car?” she asked.

  “Too risky. Come on, get on!” The engine purred to life.

  Fear crossed through her for a moment, but when she looked back at the house, her decision was made. She grabbed a helmet, climbed on behind him, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  Without wasting any time, Kade took off down the road, putting as much distance between them and Pierce as possible.

  There was no talking on the motorcycle; it was too noisy. So Nikki just kept her arms wrapped around Kade, relishing how solid he felt.

  Her rock.

  That’s what she’d always called him.

  Until he’d broken her heart.

  And that had led her into Pierce’s arms.

  Pierce had been charming at first and had swept her off her feet. Six months into the marriage, things had changed. At first he tried to control the small stuff: how she spent her time, how she dressed, and how she kept the house.

  Eventually, when he’d realized she was her own person and not prone to following directions like an obedient dog, he’d become violent. He’d learned exactly where to hit her so no one else would see it or suspect it.

  All the rage he had built up inside materialized when they were alone.

  She’d stuck with him, praying he’d change, for four years. Her parents had died in that time. She’d been beside herself with grief. Eventually she’d even started blaming herself for his outbursts.

  She was buried so deeply in grief that she wasn’t giving him the time or attention he needed. Then she’d seen texts from other women. He’d been cheating on her.

  Raz had opened Nikki’s eyes to the truth: she didn’t deserve to be treated this way. With his help, Nikki had kicked Pierce out of her house. She’d threatened to file a restraining order. A protracted legal battle would have gotten him kicked out of the FBI, which was the last thing he wanted. After all, he had an image to maintain.

  The process had been easier than she expected. She’d thought he’d put up more of a fight. But he didn’t. They’d divorced, and both had moved on. They had no reason to be in contact with each other. They had no kids, and since their incomes were essentially equal, there was no money to hassle with.

  Tears began streaming down Nikki’s face beneath the helmet. All of the emotions she’d kept bottled up inside for so long had come to the surface during that confrontation in the house. Feeling Pierce’s hand at her throat. Remembering the fear. Experiencing all the ghostlike bruises from the past.

  If Kade hadn’t been here today, she would have pulled the trigger. She would have ended months of beatings, of feeling degraded, of feeling like less than a whole person.

  But Kade was right. She would have gone to prison.
>
  What would her mom and dad have thought of that? Both Bobby and Nikki in trouble with the law. Her parents had worked so hard to keep up appearances. Maybe it was a good thing they were both gone now.

  Nikki wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Country roads still surrounded them. A few minutes later, Kade pulled off onto a dirt road and parked the bike. He climbed off and stopped in front of her. Gently he pulled her helmet off. When he saw her tears, he brushed them away with his thumbs. Then he pulled her into his arms and held her.

  Nikki realized she never wanted to let go of him again.

  Disturbing thoughts had been turning over in Kade’s mind as miles of Virginia countryside passed.

  How had Pierce found them? Kade was certain they hadn’t been followed. But Pierce had mentioned Cape Thomas. How had he known they were there? Had the FBI already made the connection between Mark, the man they’d left tied up, and their trek here?

  Kade found that hard to believe. Not enough time had passed for them to piece that together. There was no trail for authorities to follow.

  That only left the possibility of some sort of tracking device. Kade and Nikki had abandoned almost all of their belongings, though. So how?

  Reluctantly, he pulled away from his hug with Nikki. The sounds of the night were soothing—crickets and cicadas and a wind that rustled the dry leaves. But he had a feeling Nikki couldn’t hear any of that right now.

  He couldn’t imagine what she was going through or the thoughts that must be racing through her mind. He could stay like this—his arms wrapped around her, close enough to feel her heartbeat, to smell her hair—for hours, if possible.

  But it wasn’t possible. Not when someone was trying to kill them.

  “Nikki, I need to ask you something,” he started.

  She nodded, looking shell-shocked. She raised her shoulders as if trying to pull herself together. “Okay.”

  “Is there any one item that you’ve had with you since we’ve been on the run?”

  She was silent a moment, her eyes traveling side to side in thought. “No. I have Savannah’s clothes. No phone. I even have different shoes. Why?”

  “I think we’re being tracked.”