Broken Shadows: Shadows Landing #5

by Kathleen Brooks

  “No worries, dear. It’s all handled.”

  Skye looked to Trent who just shrugged. “I told you the Keeneston family was different,” he whispered.

  “Did something happen?” Skye asked, feeling as if Morgan was perhaps playing a joke on her.

  “Yes, they made the mistake of sending only one person after me to find out where you are. Miles has him now. I almost feel sorry for him. We might look like grandparents, but you should see how many ways I can kill someone with a spoon.”

  “I want to be you when I grow up.” Skye was sure she was living in a parallel universe. Morgan laughed and promised to teach her when they saw each other soon. “Soon?”

  “Yes. I’m coming to Shadows Landing. We’re all coming to Shadows Landing after this. They just made it personal.”

  “I have a better idea. This is about me. This is about trying to stop my contract with Jim from being thrown out. Well, I’m not going to be intimidated anymore. Let’s bring the fight to them,” Skye said with a slow smile as she looked up at Trent. “Do you think Ryker will let us borrow his plane to sneak into New York City?”

  “I have a better idea,” a deep voice said over the speakerphone. “We’ll get you to New York for the bench trial while keeping all ties to Shadows Landing safe. I’ll be in touch, but for now I have date night with my beautiful wife who stabbed a man through the hand with a fountain pen before head-butting him.”

  The sound of things crashing to the floor and then, “Oh Miles!” was heard before the line went dead.

  Trent cleared his throat before looking down at his phone. “Ryker just texted that Olivia is awake. I’m telling him about Morgan. I’m also telling Granger and Peter.”

  Skye sat stewing. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She’d told Morgan her plan, but it was so hard to wait. She wanted those spotlights on her now so she could destroy the people behind this.

  “I know you’re ready to wage war, but we don’t have the right ammunition yet.” Trent gave her thigh a light squeeze, drawing her attention back to her.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, we have an idea it’s Jim and Lenny behind this, but we have no proof. Also, you’ve been getting those threatening notes for almost a year. Who is behind those? What if that person is the same one trying to hunt you down? What if Jim and Lenny were honest about receiving that ransom note? Or what if they’re the ones sending them? We just don’t know.”

  Damn. Trent was right. She had to find proof that they were behind this. “How do we find out who’s behind the threats? The FBI is working on it and we have nothing.”

  “We give them time to do their job,” he replied.

  “I don’t want to give them time. I want this over now. People helping me are getting hurt. What if you’re next, Trent? I couldn’t live with myself if anyone else gets hurt because of me.”

  Skye was up and pacing as Trent took a deep breath. “I like our idea for New York. Instead of going in full blast, let the trial do the talking for you.”

  “And then what? Come back here and hide?”

  Trent stood up and cut off her pacing. “Come back here and stay safe until we find out who is behind these threats. We sit, we plan, we make connections, and we wait. When we have the evidence, then you’ll be able to take your revenge.”

  Skye took a deep breath. She felt like smashing someone with her lacrosse stick, but he was right. She needed to be smart, but she also wanted to make a statement in New York. A big one.

  “You’re right. But I do have an idea. I need support and you won’t be able to give that to me in New York. It’ll only take seconds to know I’m in Shadows Landing if you’re seen there.”

  Trent nodded with his jaw clenched tight. She could tell he didn’t like the idea of her out there in public without him. “I’ll stay on the plane while you go to court.”

  Skye picked up her phone and began to text. “Sometimes I forget I have friends. I’ll show them I’m not alone at the trial.”

  21

  Trent knew Skye’s plan for the bench trial was sound, but that didn’t mean he liked it. However, watching the woman he was falling in love with find her confidence again was worth it. It would be hard to do, but he was going to have to move from protector to supporter. He knew just how to do that too.

  Trent picked up his phone and sent his own texts. Within minutes, he knew Skye would be safe when she left him to make her stand.

  “How is it going?” he asked Skye, who was still working on her phone.

  Skye put down her phone and looked up at him as the setting sun’s rays cast her in a warm orange glow. She took a deep breath and moved to lean against him. Trent opened his arms wide for her and felt as if the world was perfect when Skye was in his embrace.

  “Really well, actually. I always felt so isolated, but I just needed to reach out. Turns out I have a lot more friends than I thought. Now if Miles and Ryker can get us to New York undetected, I feel pretty positive about the case.”

  Trent’s phone pinged with a text and he glanced down at it. “Incoming,” he said as he read Ryker’s text. “Granger and Castle are coming in the gate now.”

  Whoever was driving must have been flying down the drive because Trent couldn’t even stand up before there was banging on the front door. “I’ll be right back.” Trent kissed her forehead and yelled that he was coming to whoever was beating down the door.

  It wasn’t a surprise to Trent to see that it was Granger about to bust down the door. “Come on in. We’re on the back patio.” Granger’s and Peter’s faces were in full pissed-off cop mode. Their lips were pursed, their jaws tight, and their eyes cold.

  “We have a plan. I’ll let Skye tell you.” Trent reached out and grabbed Granger’s arm, stopping him from storming through the house. “Skye is beyond upset about what’s happened and feels responsible. Don’t be a dick.”

  “I’m never a dick,” Granger ground out between his teeth. Then he stopped and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “Okay, so sometimes I can be a dick.”

  “She’s trying to take control of her life. Let her.” Trent blocked Granger and Peter until they both agreed. Skye was carrying around so much guilt for what happened to Olivia he didn’t want them to break her. She needed to be built up now to believe in herself or she might shatter into a million pieces.

  Trent turned and led them out onto the patio where Skye looked so little on the couch. She was nervously playing with the hem of her shirt as she waited for them.

  “It’s my fault Olivia got hurt,” she said as she looked up at Granger and Peter. “But I won’t allow it to be for nothing. I have a plan.”

  Peter took a seat in one of the chairs, but Granger just leaned back against the door and crossed his arms over his chest as he listened to what Skye wanted to do.

  “I’ll go with you to New York,” Granger told her when she was done.

  “That’s very sweet of you, but I can’t have anyone from Shadows Landing there or they may make the connection to me staying here. This is my safe place until we find the evidence to connect Jim and Lenny to the threats. Only then can I—we move on.”

  “I’m working every lead on that evidence. I’m trying to find a link between Star Power and Jim, Lenny, or anyone on their team. I’ve had to escalate it up to cybercrimes to see if they can find any digital currency used to pay for these thugs to harass you,” Peter told her. “And,” he said, looking to Granger, “I agree that neither you nor I can go with her.”

  Trent saw Skye grimace. “It’ll just be Karri and me. We’ll do what we need to.”

  “Karri? Like hell.” Peter jumped up from his seat and started pacing the same path Skye had trod not a half hour before. “We have to go. I’m not leaving you two to go alone.”

  “I’m going with them,” Trent told his two friends. “I’m just staying in whatever transport Miles and Ryker arranged for us.”

  “Then we are too,” Peter said as
Granger nodded.

  “They need protection in the city. We can do that. No one looks at the bodyguards,” Granger tried to argue.

  Trent smiled and that got his friends’ attention. “Don’t worry. I’ve got that part covered.”

  Neither Peter nor Granger looked convinced, but they agreed to escort the three of them to New York and then home. Trent didn’t admit it, but it would be nice to have them along. It was going to be nerve-wracking letting Skye do her thing and not be able to be by her side every minute, but having Granger and Peter with him would help.

  “I’m going to check in with Karri.” Peter stopped pacing and looked down at Skye. “Don’t worry. We’ll keep you safe. I understand what you’re doing and why. Now the rest is up to me. I won’t let you down.”

  “I know you won’t. Thank you for all you guys are doing for me.” Trent watched as Skye stood and hugged Peter and then Granger. Granger looked so uncomfortable with any display of affection that it almost made Trent laugh.

  “We’ll check back in tomorrow. Call if there’re any new developments,” Granger grumbled before he and Peter left.

  Skye took a deep breath and looked out over the river with a sad expression on her face. Trent sat down next to her and pulled her near. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his lips against her neck.

  “Trent, I have something I have to say.”

  Trent stopped the light kissing down her neck and looked into her serious face. “What is it?”

  He saw the swallow working its way down her throat as she looked determined yet nervously up at him. “I feel as if I’m facing the executioner the day after tomorrow. Suddenly all the time I was envisioning between us has been narrowed down into a two-day window. Less than that, actually. We have two nights and one day together until my world might implode.”

  Trent gently pushed back her hair so he could look down into her face unobstructed. “Skye, your world won’t implode. No matter what the court ruling is or what happens, we’ll face it together.”

  Skye gave a weak smile and Trent moved to cup her cheek with his hand. He loved how she leaned her cheek against his hand and nodded. “That’s why I have to talk to you. You’ve shown me the courage I have and by doing this myself I am taking control of my life once again. But there’s one thing I have no control over now and that’s my heart. Trent, I know it’s crazy, but I fell in love with you the second I met you. No matter what happens in New York, I love you and I will always love you.”

  Trent felt as if someone had knocked the breath from him. He went to open his mouth, but Skye stopped him.

  “I know it’s too soon. I know I shouldn’t be thinking of forever, but I can’t help it. I had to have you know that you’re in my heart and soul. I totally understand if I’m not in yours. I wanted to tell you before everything goes crazy.” Skye paused and cocked her head a bit and then rolled her eyes. “Well, crazier than things already are.”

  Trent moved his thumb over her lips to stop her from saying whatever it was she was going to say next. “May I speak now?”

  Skye nodded and Trent raised his other hand to cup her face. He looked down at her, begging her with his eyes to believe what he was going to say. “Skye, I love you too. I have from that first day together, even before the most amazing night of my life. When we sat down and were talking and laughing together, it was just right. I knew it right then. That’s why it hurt so much the next morning when Lenny did what he did. It broke my heart.”

  Skye started to talk, but he shook his head to silence her. “I know it was all Lenny’s doing. I wish I had seen it then. I should have fought for you, but I promise you from here on out, I will never let anything or anyone come between us ever again.”

  Trent saw the tears threatening to spill from her eyes and leaned forward to kiss her. He didn’t want tears tonight—even happy ones. He wanted love to shine and with his kiss he tried to promise her that he’d love her forever.

  The kiss turned from sweet and loving to hot and needy as soon as Skye ran her hand up and under his shirt. Trent wanted more—needed more. The way Skye was pulling his shirt off told him she needed it too.

  Trent ended the kiss by pulling back as she slid his shirt over his head. She groaned in frustration as he stood up. But she didn’t need to worry. He wasn’t leaving her ever again. Trent bent down and kissed her hard and deep. Their tongues caressed each other and their lips demanded more. Skye flung her arms around his neck and Trent urged her to do the same with her legs around his hips.

  Without breaking the kiss, Trent stood with Skye locked against him, lips to lips, chest to chest, hip to hip, as he carried her inside. He stopped at the closed bedroom door and pressed her against it. Trent couldn’t stop his hips from surging forward and relished the demanding groan that came from Skye.

  “I love you,” she whispered as she clung to him, her breathing heavy as they looked into each other’s eyes.

  “I love you too.” Trent slowed things down then and kissed her with all the love he had. He reached down and opened the door all while kissing her. He didn’t set her down until they reached the bed. He wanted to make love to her now, so he took his time undressing her.

  Trent climbed onto the bed and with every kiss down her body, he told Skye what he loved about her. Her hands possessed him as she wordlessly conveyed her love, her desires, and her wants as she drove him higher and higher. When they were both breathing hard with overwhelming need, Trent sank home and knew the woman in his arms was more than just a love but was the love of his life.

  22

  Trent had gone home to make a show of working but not before they made love again in the early morning light. Last night had been reverently done, but this morning it had seemed as if they’d let their passion instead of their feelings take the lead. She’d never felt sexier as he whispered all the things he wanted to do with her.

  Skye had made him swear he’d hurry back so they could start on the long list of things that made her breathless just imagining.

  After taking a shower, Skye poured a cup of coffee and padded out onto the porch. She took a deep breath of morning air and felt more focused than she had in years. She knew what she wanted both personally and professionally and she was going for it.

  Skye picked up her phone and got to work. She was so busy getting things in motion for tomorrow that she didn’t hear Tinsley and Karri until they were halfway through the house.

  Her two friends made a pit stop in the kitchen for coffee and then joined her. Tinsley set a bag of muffins down on the table and smirked at Skye. With an incline of her head, she drew Skye’s attention to Karri, who had a smile on her face Skye had never seen before.

  “What’s going on?” Skye asked her best friend.

  “Nothing.” She sighed happily.

  Tinsley rolled her eyes. “Nothing? Oh, I guess it was nothing when I caught Peter Castle sneaking out of my house at four this morning?”

  Skye gasped but was smiling. “Karri! Tell me everything.”

  Karri’s happily glazed eyes finally focused on Skye and her own lips turned into a teasing smile. “It looks as if I’m not the only one who has something to tell.”

  Tinsley waved that off. “We already know she and Trent are in love. Now you and Peter? That’s new.”

  “Is it true? Does he love you?” Karri asked as only a best friend who knew how much Skye had hoped for a relationship with Trent could.

  “He does. We do. It’s everything I ever dreamed and never thought would come true. And you?” Skye wanted the same for her best friend.

  “We didn’t sleep together, but he did spend the night again. He held me while I slept and it was . . . perfect. I never thought of myself as traditional until Peter. Is that crazy? I’m suddenly thinking of marriage and that my children will carry on the Wolf Clan and that I want to teach them all that my family has taught me.”

  “It’s not crazy, it’s love.” Skye couldn’t be happier for her friend. “When
will you tell your mother about Peter?”

  Karri let out a sigh. “I don’t know. I was thinking after things are settled I could have them fly down here.”

  “They’ll be excited for you, Karri. No matter who you bring home. If you love him, you know they’ll love him too. I don’t think this one will run, either. He’s the one for you. He’ll fight for you, just like in your dream.”

  “I think so too. I can show my parents the restaurant if they fly down. I know they just want me to be happy and to follow my dreams. Speaking of parents, have you talked to yours yet?” Karri asked.

  Skye shook her head. “I didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing and give away my location. I text them every morning and night and tell them I’m safe. I was thinking the same as you. I want to bring them here to meet everyone when it’s all over.”

  “So, you and Trent?” Karri asked then.

  “Are madly in love. Do you love Peter?”

  Karri smiled and looked so content at the sound of that word. “I feel as if he’s been with me in my dreams forever. I know it’s silly but you’ve heard of old souls? It’s like our souls are old together. Like we already have a history.”

  “That’s not silly. It’s wonderful.”

  Life was changing so fast for them both, yet it felt as if she couldn’t move at all. Skye was stuck until the court ruled on her contract. Olivia had fought so hard to get the jurisdiction in New York and then to get ready for a bench trial as fast as possible. Now she wasn’t going to be there. Olivia had texted that morning that all was taken care of. Skye wished they could go now. Tomorrow there would be darkness, but there would also be light. There was love and friendship, and Skye wasn’t going to face it alone. They’d face tomorrow together.

  Tinsley and Karri had left, and now Skye prepared for the biggest moment of her life. They wouldn’t know it was coming, but she was going to face Jim down in court. The speech she had prepared was finally ready. She was ready.