"I'll talk to the police again when I get home. They should be able to do something if I ask…" She paused for a moment. Why was it so hard to leave this time? "I love you," she said. "I can't risk you."
Now that she'd said it once, the words came so effortlessly. But she couldn't bear to hear the same declaration from him. She put her finger over his mouth when she thought he would speak. But he wouldn't be silenced.
"Promise me…" When his lips moved against her fingers, she pulled her hand away. He cleared his throat. "Promise me to take care of yourself."
"You stay safe too," she said. Then she pressed her lips to his again.
When she turned to leave, he caught her by the elbow.
"Kayla…"
His voice was full of hurt and confusion. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Could he see that this was hurting her too? When she opened her eyes, she straightened her shoulders. Then she patted his hand.
"I'll be fine," she said. "I'll let you know how the trial goes."
The muscle on his jaw pulsed as he eyed her. Then he nodded curtly and let her go. Just like she knew he would.
After she slipped into her car, she waved at him. He didn't move. He stared at her as she put the car into Reverse and guided her vehicle away from him. Her fingers were so tight over her steering wheel that her knuckles were turning white. This was for the best. She had to do this. For him.
She blinked away the blurriness in her eyes and focused on the road ahead, resolving to do the right thing. The route took her by her family's cabin. As she drew closer to it, an idea started to form. Her family wasn't one for firearms, but her dad had an impressive collection of knives and spears that he kept at the lake. It was part of his fishing gear. Normally she wouldn't think of a knife as much of a weapon, especially not when the guys who were after her probably had guns, but she needed something. Something that they might not expect.
As it was, she was an easy target.
And if someone did attack her before she made it to the city… and she did manage to cut them… then they would have DNA evidence. That would help, right?
Maybe she watched too many detective shows on TV.
When the familiar access road came into view, she slowed the car. The driveway was still a pristine blanket of unmarred snow. No one had been there since the storm.
In the middle of the night she'd concluded that Ed's guys must have broken into her condo and found a reference to Sanctuary Lake. So she'd expected to see tire tracks. Wouldn't they have gone here first?
Huh. Maybe she was imagining things. Maybe that person stomping around the house last night had been someone else. Someone completely unconnected to her, Ed or the trial. If that was the case, she should have told Aiden about the guy.
Her tires crunched over the snow as she pulled close to the front door. When she killed the ignition, she stared at the cabin. Indecision gripped her. Had she been wrong to panic? Had she hurt Aiden for no reason?
Aiden walked through his house after Kayla departed. It seemed so quiet and empty now. She'd only been there for a few days, but already memories of her were embedded in every inch of his home. His chest tightened, but he ignored the ache.
If he'd truly believed she was trying to save him, he would have reacted differently, but… He shook his head. The dangers she talked about were too vague. They were just excuses to leave.
This was what they did. She came. She left. He stayed.
It was a pattern that had gone on over decades. A pattern she was obviously okay with. Why should it be different this time?
He peered out the window to the lake. It was a clear morning and the water was calm. The view usually instilled a sense of peace in him. But it was perhaps too much to ask that this could overcome the chaos of his emotions today.
There was only one thing he could do: work.
Or… he could go after her.
As soon as the thought surfaced, the tightness in his chest eased. The rightness of it settled over him. Yes. This was it. He would do it. He would convince her to stay. Failing that, he would go with her. He couldn't let her go. Not this time. He ran up the stairs to grab his phone from the bedroom. When he ran back down again, his gaze caught on the disturbed snow along his back window. Deer must have come by last night. Except… those didn't look like animal tracks.
His phone rang.
"Thank God you answered," Drew said in a rush.
"What's happened?" Aiden straightened.
"I've been tracking down that Ed guy's friends. One of them is in Sanctuary. He's posting pics to his social media feed, complaining about the cold."
"How do you know it's Sanctuary Lake?"
"I recognized the view to the bluffs and then I checked," Drew said. "He hadn't disabled the GPS on his phone's camera. The metadata is still embedded in the picture. Not the smartest guy. Looks like he's on your side of the lake."
Aiden cursed. He eyed the tracks in the snow again. The bastard had been here last night. Had Kayla known? Was that why she bolted today? Why hadn't she told him?
And now she was alone… vulnerable.
Fury ignited his blood: fury at her from keeping this from him, at the piece of shit who was trying to scare her, and mostly at himself for letting her go.
But how could they have discovered where she was?
"I've been thinking about that," Drew said. "They could have put some kind of tracking device on her car or hacked into her GPS system."
Aiden hadn't realized he'd asked the question aloud, but he appreciated Drew's answer. It made sense. But that meant that right now the bastards would know where she was.
Curse words poured out of him. He ended the call with Drew and rushed for the door. He dialed her number as he went. No answer. Another rush of curse words fell from his lips.
He had to find her. He might be able to see her tracks on the road. He might be able to get to her before they did…
Was she going back to the city to talk to the police about protection? Or would she hit the highway and keep driving? If she didn't answer, he'd never find her once she left Sanctuary Lake.
Chapter 12
Kayla stood in the center of the living room of her parents’ cabin and gaped at the changes. Aiden had done so much in here. The difference was incredible. It was like he had seen inside their minds and known exactly what they would like.
The dull avocado green paint was gone and even if he hadn't completed anything beyond that, the change would have been remarkable. But he'd also removed the standard brick fireplace mantel. In its place was a floor-to-ceiling custom mantel surround. She recognized the stone as a local rundle stone, which had a beautiful blend of rusty browns and soft dove grays. The mantel shelf was made of a robust log, polished to enhance the grain and knots. Striking.
She never would have been able to specify something like that. It was custom. A piece of art. And Aiden was the artist. So much of him was in everything that he did… from how he lived his life to the work he did.
A warmth filled Kayla.
Her life wasn't like that. Her world was dictated by others. Every minute of it, it seemed, based on how her billable hours were recorded. But it went beyond that and encompassed her designs, her reports… hell, even her conversations were moderated by someone else's expectations. Everything had to be completed in compliance with company policy, municipal bylaws and client demands. What was the last thing she'd designed because she loved the idea?
Nothing came to mind.
The most fun she'd had lately was the mini-design charrette she'd done with Aiden and his brother at the pub. She shook her head to dislodge her sudden melancholy. She didn't have time for thoughts like that. She had a life. It was serviceable. It was the reason she hadn't accepted police protection, right? She must like it well enough…
Or maybe she hadn't allowed herself to believe anything else, whispered a little voice deep inside her.
No. She didn't have time to go down that
rabbit's hole of insecurity. She spun on her heel. She was here to find the knives. That was it. Then she needed to get out of here. Although God only knew where she was going to go next. Despite what she'd said to Aiden, she didn't want to go to the police now. It seemed like it was too late. And besides, no one had actually tried to hurt her. She was just getting anxious because the trial date was nearing. She'd clearly overreacted to the midnight text message.
Still, it wasn't like she wanted to go home. She wouldn't feel comfortable there. Not after they had doused it in animal blood.
Maybe she'd get a room in a hotel in the city. Ed's guys wouldn't try anything there. There would be too many potential witnesses and security cameras. In retrospect, she should have gone there first. Then Aiden wouldn't have been put at risk.
She marched to the spare bedroom with renewed determination. Behind her, the front door creaked open. Shit. Aiden must have come to work on the house. She was caught. And he would shatter the tentative control she'd gained over her rollercoaster emotions. She twisted toward him, clenching her hands so he wouldn't see them shaking—
A stranger stood in the threshold.
"Hello, Kayla," the man said. He had dark wavy hair and eyes that would match the sky on a clear summer day. In any other situation, she would have described him as handsome. Except there was something about the gleam in his blue eyes that made her blood run cold.
There was only one thought foremost in her mind now: She hadn't found a weapon yet.
Aiden's truck shot down the road. He'd lost valuable seconds clearing the snow off his truck, but The Beast wouldn't have been able to gain ground like this one could. It was okay for lumbering along, but right now he needed speed. Already he was going faster than the weather conditions warranted, and under any other circumstance he would have blasted an idiot for driving like this. But this was different. Kayla was in danger.
And as he flew after her, he had his phone in one hand, something else he'd be cursing in another driver. But today wasn't about playing by the rules.
But no matter how many times he hit redial, she didn't answer. She wouldn't be ignoring his calls. They hadn't parted with anger between them… just decades of emotional baggage.
The bend was coming up. Damn it. He was going to have to slow.
His truck fishtailed around the curve, but Aiden guided it through the skid and it stayed out of the ditch. The stretch ahead was empty. He cursed. She had at least ten minutes on him, but she wouldn't be driving as recklessly as he was. He'd hoped to find her before they reached town. But if he didn't catch up with her from behind, Drew said he'd monitor the four-way stop by town.
Everything was under control. Calm resolution washed over him. He would find her.
That was the only option he was willing to accept.
He scanned the road ahead, wishing he could pick out her tracks from the others. He was almost at her family's cabin. Would she stop there? They hadn't gone inside the night she arrived and they hadn't been there since. She might be curious…
He slowed the truck as the driveway came into view. Sure enough, there were tracks going in there… but two sets, not just one. His curse words exploded through the cab of the truck.
Fighting the impulse to charge in there, he made himself coast by the entrance. He craned his neck as he passed. An unfamiliar car was parked behind her vehicle. A growl surged up the back of his throat.
He made a sharp turn until his truck was perpendicular to the road, blocking the only cleared way to town. No one was getting past his truck without his permission. He pulled his phone out and called his brother.
"They're at the old Ferguson place," he said as soon as Drew answered. The Fergusons hadn't lived there for years, but it was the only reference he figured Drew would understand. His brothers hadn't lived in Sanctuary Lake for years, so none of them would know who owned what now. "My truck is on the road; you can't miss it. I'm going in."
Drew shouted at him, but he was already disconnecting the call. If anyone thought he was going to wait while some bastard was doing God only knew what to Kayla, they were insane. He tossed his phone on his seat, ignoring the way it vibrated with a new call. After he climbed out of the cab, he tossed his keys in the corner of the truck bed. If things didn't go well and he was caught and searched, the bastards weren't getting his truck out of the way so easily.
When he reached the end of the drive, he paused and listened. Compared to the summer months, it was always so quiet this time of year. Today was no different. The distinctive calls of a couple of chickadees were the only sound.
His breath hung in the air as he walked along the tire tracks to the intruder's car. He crouched beside the back tire, with the car between him and the cabin. As he fished his Swiss Army knife from his jeans pocket, he watched, but didn't see any movement. He flipped out the blade.
He'd never been one of those people who did reckless, stupid shit… well, except getting involved with Fran, but she'd given him Chris so he couldn't consider that too stupid. As a teenager, he'd had his brothers and his sister to shield from their bastard father. He'd stayed in that hellhole as long as he could. But when he hit twenty, George had kicked him out of the house. At least Jake and Grady had been fifteen by then, and old enough to protect the others.
Or so he'd thought at the time.
But when Aiden had lived in that little apartment behind the inn, he'd worked hard, escaped into new worlds through novels, and attempted to fly under his adoptive father's radar. Books had taught him that he wouldn't be a teen forever and that things would change. Which meant he'd never felt the need to rebel quite the same way as his brothers had…
But sometimes people were late bloomers when it came to being reckless.
This would be one of those moments. He eyed the knife in his hand for a moment, then he stabbed the back tire. Air rushed out in a soft hiss. Then he moved in a low position to the next one and did the same thing. This one was sitting deeper in a snowdrift. They might not even see it immediately. And then, to be safe, he moved to Kayla's car and slashed her tires too. When he was done, he closed the blade.
No one carried two spare tires with them. So, for better or worse, there was only one vehicle that could get them out of here now: his.
He tucked his knife in his pocket. It was a small, but a welcome weight. He had no desire to kill anyone unless he knew it was the only way to save Kayla's life.
The door on the cabin swung open. A man stepped out. His hand was tight around the top of Kayla's arm and he was jerking her forward. Kayla fought him, but he was too strong. Aiden gritted his teeth as he sank lower, keeping himself out of view. The bastard dragged her down the steps, not even stopping when she fell to her knees.
"Come on," the guy said. "We gotta get going."
"Let me go," she yelled at him.
Kayla scrambled to regain her footing, then she charged her captor, throwing her body at him. Aiden hadn't expected that, and apparently neither had her captor. They landed on the snow with a thud. The guy had let go in the fall and Kayla scrambled to get away.
Action time. Aiden ran at them.
"Run, Kayla," he shouted as he threw himself at the bastard who'd been manhandling her, pinning him to the road. His jacket was slippery and Aiden's fingers couldn't get a good hold. Behind him, Kayla shrieked his name, but she didn't leave.
"Go," he urged again.
Damn it. Holding the guy wasn't working. It was like trying to catch a fish with his bare hands. Then the thug tried to knee him, but Aiden turned in time to avoid the attack. It'd been a lot of years since he'd grappled with his brothers, but there were some things you didn't forget.
Aiden was still on top, so he pulled his arm back and drove it down. Something crunched when Aiden's fist hit the man’s face. Crimson splattered across the white snow. The rush of blood in his ears blurred other noises, but he could hear screaming. He couldn't pick out the words. Why was Kayla yelling? He was winning.
And
then a brutally hard blow came to Aiden's side. The breath was knocked from his lungs. It wasn't until he was thrown to the left that he realized he'd been kicked. Fuck. There were two of them. Now he understood why she was screaming. The new guy struck him again. Christ. What the hell was he wearing? Steel toes?
"Don't move," the new arrival shouted. "Or I'll put a bullet in her head."
Aiden blinked to clear the blurriness in his eyes. Then he saw it. Kayla was trapped with a gun pointed at her temple.
Plan A—if you could call it that—was a failure.
In hindsight, he should have waited for help to arrive. With the tires slashed, they wouldn't have gotten far. But when he'd seen Kayla being shoved around, thought had evaporated and all that was left was instinct.
The guy that he'd punched grunted and pushed to his feet. He spat out a mouthful of blood, then he turned to eye Aiden. His buddy groaned and shook at the sight of the red soaked snow. A little queasy, maybe?
"Who the hell is this?"
"A local," Kayla said quickly. "Must have seen something was going on here. It's a small place. He'd know no one should be here."
Her gaze flitted to him, panic and guilt clear in her beautiful eyes. Aiden nodded toward her slightly. He got it. He wasn't going to get hypersensitive about how she classified their relationship to these two miscreants.
"Nah." The first guy wiped the blood from his nose on the back of his sleeve. "This is your lover boy, isn't it? A little old, isn't he? Got a thing for grandpas?"
Seriously?
"Get up," the bastard with the gun said.
Aiden cursed as he stood. His side throbbed like a son of a bitch. The guy had a hell of a kick. He'd probably been a star quarterback or something in high school. Aiden looked his adversary over. Nah. He didn't look like he'd made it past sixth grade. Bloody Face looked back and forth between Kayla and Aiden, as if he was trying to puzzle out what to do next. Maybe he didn't get far in school either.
The familiar weight of his knife in his pocket calmed Aiden. He still had an advantage. He ignored the old adage about bringing a knife to a gun fight that floated through his head.
Hot Silver Nights: Silver Fox Romance Collection Page 67
