by Lynn Burke
“I want you so bad,” he murmured, his lips trailing up along my jaw.
Whimpering, I tried to force his head back down. “Then take what you want, Tom. Please.”
He wrapped his arms around me and yanked me on top of him.
A loud crack sounded over the rush of blood in my ears, and a stinging pain sliced across my shoulder.
“Shit!” Tom rolled us, and we tumbled off the edge of the rock as my mind fought to make sense of what had happened. We pummeled through the air, a shriek flying from my lips.
I landed on my side, the impact pulling a grunt from me. Tom’s arm rested beneath me, and we slid a dozen or so feet through rocks before coming to a stop.
“What the fuck?” I gasped, the pain in my shoulder radiating down to my wrist.
“Someone shot at us,” Tom whispered harshly. “Stay down!”
He found me.
My heart stopped, and I pressed against the ground although my mind screamed for me to run.
Rolling onto his stomach beside me, Tom peered uphill, and I tilted my head back to do the same.
“He must not be able to see us, or we’d both be dead by now,” Tom whispered. He glanced at my face. “Are you okay?”
“I-I think so. Something hit my shoulder.”
“Shit.” He pulled back and examined my shirt, his touch light and gentle. “Looks like rock shavings.” Lips pursed, he shook his head and glanced back up at the outcropping we’d been sitting on. “My goddamn first-aid kit is in my backpack up on the rock.”
“I’ll be fine,” I tried to assure him, my voice shaking. I lay still as a stone as his head swiveled, taking in our immediate surroundings.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered through the fear tightening my throat.
“I’m going to find and kill the motherfucker.” Venom laced his words, and I didn’t doubt for one second he would accomplish his task. “You’re going to slither behind that downed log over there,” he said, gesturing with his chin to my opposite side, “and I’m going to go hunting.”
Tom pulled his handgun from its holster and set his gaze on my face. “You stay there until I come back.”
“Wh-what if you don’t come back?”
“I will.”
“But what if—”
“I’m not going to let anyone harm you, Candace.” His green eyes peered into mine with assurance, and my shaking insides relaxed.
“I trust you,” I whispered.
He brushed his lips over mine quickly. “You don’t know how happy it makes me to hear you say that. We’ll pick up this conversation later.”
I grabbed his arm as he started to shift away from me. “Promise?”
“Promise. Now, the second I stand, I want you to roll behind that log.”
“Be careful.” Tears clogged my voice.
Tom dipped his head once, and in one swift motion, leaped to his feet and sprinted toward the trees to our right.
I rolled as I’d promised to do, my lower lip between my teeth.
A shot rang out, and I stifled another shriek. I made it behind the log and jerked my gaze toward where Tom had run.
He’d disappeared.
I frantically scanned the top of the ravine and the woods beyond. No downed body.
He must have made it, I told myself, fist against my lips. I couldn’t imagine any other scenario.
My ears strained, ringing atop the rustling branches and leaves. The adrenaline rush slowed, and my body trembled, my teeth chattered. I wrapped my arms around myself, curling into a ball.
He’s an ex-SEAL. He knows his shit. He’ll kill the motherfucker just like he’d said.
Similar sayings voiced in my head as I fought off the tightness in my chest. I recognized the shortness of breath, the pain tingling in my breast bone—the same as when I’d been called to sit on the stand and testify against Papa.
I clenched my eyes shut. Keep it together, Lila. Tom’s got this.
Chapter Twelve
Tom
Whoever the fucker was, I knew he wouldn’t linger up near the peak after the second shot. The bullet had grazed the back of my neck. Too damn close.
Not wasting any time, I hurried up the mountain, a good stone’s throw from the usual path I took to the peak, but keeping myself between him and Candace. I hoped. Chances were, he’d circle around and check to see if he hit us.
I planned to intercept the bastard and put a bullet through his brain before he knew what hit him. I wouldn’t hesitate. Wouldn’t question a damn fucking thing but ending the life of the man who had tried to do away with Candace.
Reaching the edge of the clearing I’d been running toward, I paused, breathing heavily but quietly. Birds tweeted and leaves rustled overhead, but no other sounds met my ears. Waiting for the fucker to come down the only possible way off the mountain was worse than a dental visit, but I forced myself to remain still. Watching. Waiting.
The sheer cliff face couldn’t be traversed, while the path I used ran a mere ten feet or so to my left. Farther around the mountain’s backside, rock outcroppings and thick stands of fir trees made passage near impossible.
He has to come this way…
Fifteen minutes, I noted, glancing down at my watch, my hand still clutching the Glock in my right hand.
My feet itched to move as a tingle raised the hairs on my neck. I glanced to my far left. A flash of movement through the trees caught my eye.
“Fuck!” I whispered harshly, turning and running my way back down the way I’d come.
He would reach Candace before I would.
Expletives screamed through my head as visions of the nightmare of my past rose in my mind.
No, no, no!
The word chanted over and over in my brain. I jumped fallen logs, rocks, and branches, more than one slapping my face as I sped onward without care of the noise I made. I continued to catch glimpses of the fucker ahead and to the right of me, adrenaline rushing and jaw clenched against the inevitable.
I’d promised. Candace trusted me…
The trees broke ahead of me, and Candace’s scream rent the air, ringing in my ears. Glock out ahead of me in both hands, I sprinted toward the rock outcropping and the askew blanket.
She screamed again, and came into my gun’s sights as I sprinted to the edge.
Danny Knight held her back against his chest, his gun to her temple. Gaze locked on my face.
Still running, I pulled the trigger.
Another scream ripped from Candace as her babysitter flew backward, pulling her with him, the back of his head blown out.
My momentum carried me over the edge, and I landed on both feet and dropped to roll. “Candace!” I scrambled down the hill to her side, my head jerking side to side, alert for the other fucker who was supposed to be keeping her safe.
Candace lay curled in a fetal position, sobbing.
I grabbed her and hauled her against me with one arm, pointing my Glock at Danny’s unmoving body in the event he twitched one damn muscle.
Candace clutched at my shirt, her body trembling.
“You okay?” I asked, gun still in my hand, my un-resting gaze scanning the top of the ravine we sat in.
“I-I think so.”
Still no sign of movement. I turned my attention on her and held her at arm’s length to inspect her face.
Streaks of mascara lined her cheeks, her eyes wet and clear like a summer sky, slamming that ache in my chest. A wobbly smile lifted her pouty lips. “You didn’t hesitate.”
I swallowed against the sudden burn in my eyes. Unable to talk, I shook my head and hauled her close again, once more studying the area. A couple of swallows helped me find my voice. “We need to get down off the mountain in case Charlie’s in on whatever—whoever—the fuck had Danny by the balls.”
A shudder rippled down through Candace, and she nodded.
I hauled her to her feet and kept my hand clasped around hers while heading into the trees, my eyes scanning a three-s
ixty. Nothing.
We took our time heading down the mountain, steering clear of the path we’d taken up, approaching my land from the northwest corner near the bungalow rather than the east nearer to my house.
Silence reigned between us. While I expected Candace’s mind raced over what had transpired, I remained laser focused on the immediate future. Scoping out the farm from deep in the woods. Waiting until night fell before approaching the house—with her staying hidden in the woods. Clearing both the bungalow and my house one room at a time. Putting a bullet through Charlie’s forehead if I found him waiting Danny’s—or our—return.
I slowed up a hundred yards or so away from my farm’s clearing and pulled Candace up alongside me. “We’re going to stop and study the farm, okay?”
She nodded, her blue eyes wide, lips pressed tight, and hand squeezing mine.
“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you,” I vowed again.
“I know.” Her whispered word of trust sent a rush through my chest, and I turned forward once more, focusing on the glimpses of the bungalow in the distance.
We snuck a few more yards and hunkered down behind a thick wall of brambles. I nodded to my left, crouched, and worked my way around the outer edge, Candace in tow.
A crumbling stone wall slanted away westward, its edge just beyond the brambles.
I released my hold on Candace’s hand, belly-crawled to the wall, and motioned Candace up to my right.
Just the usual activity—grazing goats, grunting pigs, and clucking chickens. There was no sign of a car or another human.
A rock dug into my hip, and I moved closer to her. “You okay?” I whispered, glancing at Candace.
Eyes still wide with a hint of fear, she nodded.
“We’re going to stay here until nightfall.”
Another nod, and she shifted in the leaf refuse beneath her.
I turned my attention on the clearing once more, systematically checking every inch I could see.
How long had Danny been watching us? Had he somehow managed to get ahead of us on the mountain path and settle in to pick us off? If he’d been a trained sniper like myself, with a powerful enough rifle, the outcropping Candace and I had sat upon would have been the perfect place to easily do away with us while we picked beans.
Once in the woods, he wouldn’t have had a clear shot of us coming up the path. The mountain would have been his best chance of sighting in on us again.
Archie started squawking, and I turned my focus to the driveway.
Charlie’s sedan came flying up the dirt road, skidding to a stop in front of the bungalow.
The driver door flew open, and he jumped out. “Candace!” he hollered, his voice half-panicked while running to the front door. “Candace!” he yelled again, pounding on the door. Seconds later, he hurried back toward the sedan, his head and body turning as though searching the clearing.
“Candace!”
“Stay here,” I whispered, climbing to my feet.
I caught her murmured agreement and hurried out of the woods, my Glock in hand.
Charlie had his back to me, hands on hips.
“Taft!” I hollered, and he spun around, gaze going from my gun to beyond my shoulder.
“Tom! Where’s Candace?”
“Safe.” Still unsure of the man, I held onto my gun, ready to pull it up and shoot off a round at the first sign of any shit.
“Have you seen Danny? I found a fucking note…” He reached around his back, and I yanked my gun up, trained on his forehead.
“Don’t fucking move!” I shouted.
Taft paused, hand still behind him. “I’m not here to harm her.”
“Don’t move your fucking hands and slowly turn!”
He did as told, putting his back toward me and the hand he’d reached into his back pocket. “Just a letter, Tom. No gun.”
I lowered mine and stalked forward. “Don’t move a fucking muscle.”
He complied, and I stopped a few feet away from him. No evidence showed of a gun beneath his waist band and the tight t-shirt clinging to him.
“All right.” I tucked my gun away, and he slowly removed a folded note from his pocket and turned.
“Where the fuck is Candace?” he asked again, his gaze scanning the farm.
“Safe. The fuck is going on?”
“Danny’s got a fucking gambling problem, and he’s lost everything. He left me a note apologizing for what he needed to do for cash, letting me know he planned on disappearing after today.” A scowl lined Taft’s brow, the pain of his partner turning evident in his hazel eyes. “Figured someone had gotten to him, offering to end his troubles.”
“Goddamn.” I scrubbed a hand down over my face. “Danny held a gun to Candace’s temple, but I put a bullet through his brain before he could pull the trigger.”
“Fuck.” Taft’s shoulders slumped and he shook his head while pinching the bridge of his nose. “Where is he?”
I turned and motioned Candace out from behind the rock wall. “About a mile up the mountain, at the top of a ravine.”
Candace appeared, picking her way through the trees.
Taft blew out a huge breath.
“Sorry, man,” I said, clasping his shoulder.
He nodded, his gaze settling beyond me. “Her shoulder is bleeding.”
“Rock shards from Danny’s missed shot. Nothing serious.”
“She’s lucky. Danny never misses.”
Candace sidled up to me, and I pulled her against my side.
A frown flitted over Taft’s brow, but he nodded at her. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Danny…”
“I know.” Taft swallowed. “The FBI found the last wanted man in the case against—” Taft cut himself short with a quick glance at me.
“Tom knows,” Candace said. “I let him read Papa’s letter.”
Taft nodded, his brow furrowing again.
“With him finally caught,” Candace said, “I’m safe, right?”
“Yes,” Taft said, returning his attention to her. “With him behind bars, there’s no one to pay out on whatever price he may have put on your head.”
“Thank God.” She slumped into me, and I squeezed her tight.
I planned on never letting go.
****
Hours of sitting with the FBI left me with a throbbing headache. I couldn’t imagine how Candace felt. It was well after midnight before the coroner, EMTs, and the last sedan drove down the driveway, their tail lights disappearing out of sight. I turned back to the living room.
Candace sat on the couch, head tipped back and eyes closed. Butter, her kitten I’d retrieved from the bungalow, sat curled on her lap.
“Need a drink?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Soak in the hot tub?”
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh, “but I need a bed more.”
While my cock wanted to take interest in her words, I was no asshole. “You’re staying here tonight,” I said.
“Okay.” Heaving a deep breath, she lifted her head and opened her eyes. “Can I sleep in your bed with you?”
“I wouldn’t want you any other place.”
She gently picked up the sleeping kitten and sat him on the plush pillow beside her.
I pulled Candace up the second the cat snuggled in, hugged her tight, and kissed the top of her head. Without a word, I laced my fingers through hers, flipped off the lights, and made my way upstairs, Candace following along. I didn’t bother turning on the upstairs light since enough moonlight shone through my bedroom windows on the right. In silence, I turned and grasped the bottom of Candace’s shirt.
She grimaced while gently taking her injured arm from the sleeve.
“Okay?” I whispered.
“Yeah. They did a good job of patching me up.”
I yanked off my filthy shirt and pants, and kneeled in front of Candace to help her finish with her tight jeans. The musk from her pussy less than a foot f
rom my face flooded my senses, and my cock jerked to attention in my boxers.
Swallowing a rush of saliva, I focused on her foot in the dark, peeling the jeans from first one leg then the other. Her bra slid to the floor beside me, and I bit back my groan.
I stood, my gaze locking on her face rather than the bare breasts I fought to keep from touching.
Exhaustion weighed in her eyes, and I tugged her hand, leading her toward the bed. “You need to sleep,” I whispered while pulling back the blankets.
Candace crawled in, her ass swaying more than I needed to see. I tucked the blanket under her chin, and my body burned as I walked around the foot of the bed, her gaze following me. “What are you looking at?” I asked.
“That thick cock straining your boxers.”
With a groan, I slid under the covers.
Candace scooted close to me, and I pulled her tight against my body. “I need you,” she whispered against my lips.
“You need to sleep more.”
She kissed me, slow and tempting, her tongue sliding between my lips to brush along mine.
My fucking cock leaked, and I groaned into her mouth. The pent-up sexual frustration and the emotional upheaval of the day raced through me, heating my blood to the boiling point. “We should wait until you’re rested,” I tried again, wanting to be a gentleman.
“Fuck waiting.” Candace rolled on top of me, her softness pressing against my stomach and chest. “We’re alive when we very well could be dead.”
I wound my fingers through her hair, angling her head to deepen our kiss.
She wiggled against me, clenching my waist between her thighs, rubbing her silk-covered pussy against the bulge in my boxers.
I grabbed hold of her hips to keep her still so I wouldn’t shoot my load before feeling her wet pussy clutch at my length. Taking care with her shoulder, I flipped us over and tore my mouth off of hers. Propping up on my knees, I tugged down her panties, baring every inch of her naked flesh.
Golden moon beams lit her torso to mid-thigh.
“You’re blonde.” I tore my gaze from the trimmed patch of hair hiding her pussy to find her nodding, lower lip between her teeth. The scent of her arousal wafted past my nose, and with a moan, I slid onto my stomach, pressing her thighs wide.
