Unexpected Vows

by Paige, Victoria

  Unexpected Vows

  Victoria Paige

  UNEXPECTED VOWS

  Copyright © 2018 Victoria Paige

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9906796-8-4

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places, events, organization either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, places or locale is entire coincidental. The publisher is not responsible for any opinion regarding this work on any third-party website that is not affiliated with the publisher or author.

  Cover Design by Robin Ludwig Design Inc.,

  http://www.gobookcoverdesign.com

  Edited by: Kristan Roetker, edit LLC,

  https://writeeditread.com/

  Proofreading: Judy’s Proofreading

  http://www.judysproofreading.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Epilogue

  Connect With the Author

  Also by Victoria Paige

  1

  Kate

  Feral eyes flashed at me in the dim light.

  White fangs bared in a snarl.

  My instincts screamed run like hell.

  My heart hammered even as my experience kicked in. The beast before me could rip out my throat, but its series of guttural barks gave me reprieve.

  The bark and hold kept me pinned while alerting his master.

  I lowered my gaze to the ground and slowly turned to give the dog my left side—a narrower target. As my ears keyed in to my canine captor’s excitement, I assessed my weapons and kept my breathing even. Moments suspended in eternity. Any sudden movement on my part and I’d be in a world of hurt.

  Where the hell was Frances?

  As if on cue, my partner’s silhouette appeared behind the guard dog. The incessant barking muffled the sound of her approach and, before the animal could turn on Frances, she shot it. The dog still charged her, but she had a baton ready and wedged it between its teeth as they both fell to the ground.

  I straddled their grappling forms and pulled the dog off with the baton still in its mouth, praying the tranquilizer Frances used would take effect soon. The dog struggled against me as my partner rolled away from us.

  “Easy,” I muttered, trying to remain calm. I squeezed my legs around its ribcage. The beast was huge; it was like straddling a pony. I released the baton, gripped its scruff, and reached for my stunner. With a fierce growl it reared back and knocked me on my back. I spied Frances drawing her nine millimeter.

  “Don’t shoot!” I cried as massive jaws came at me. Raising my left arm, pain clamped my forearm as I discharged my stun gun into the canine’s neck. I flinched at the yelp. The grip on my arm disappeared, and the beast fell to its side. It convulsed yet tried to get up, but the effects of the tranquilizer seeped in.

  “Stay down,” I implored the animal, levering myself into a sitting position, relieved that the close-contact weapon worked as advertised and didn’t shock me. I exhaled a ragged breath as my blood started returning to my brain. Biker boots crunched on the gravelly ground. I stared up at my partner.

  “Did we get Carter?”

  “Hogtied and ready for transport,” Frances replied with a smirk.

  She held out her hand and pulled me up.

  * * *

  I never thought I’d live the life of a bounty hunter, but the job was made for me. Bail skips often took me out of town, and I needed that distance. Losing my sister, Piper, shattered me more than I let on. As a former Enhanced Soldier, born out of a genetic experiment by a rogue CIA officer, knowledge of my kind was only whispered about in special ops circles. But our genetic superiority came at a price. Greedy entities sought to exploit us. There were challenges on the path to creating the perfect weapon. The prototypes turned into sociopaths. One of them killed Piper and I’d been helpless to stop him.

  Being around my family was a reminder that I had let them down. I couldn’t be around them too long because they’d start digging into feelings I had buried deep in my heart, feelings I needed in order to survive.

  And I was surviving. It had been a month since I’d started this gig. I wasn’t flying solo yet and was working under the mentorship of a more experienced fugitive hunter.

  I glanced over at my partner, Frances Dean. Her slender frame was slouched in her seat as she drove our vehicle. Clad in a floral-patched denim jacket, silver-blond hair held back by a single braid exposed her perfect oval face and porcelain complexion. Not one speck of the forty-eight-year-old woman’s bohemian air hinted at her former life as an FBI agent—one with gray suits, starched white shirts, and sensible shoes.

  “Your staring is starting to give me a complex.” Her husky voice held a hint of laughter. The faint lines at the corners of her eyes deepened as the glare of the morning sun hit us for the first time. She pushed the compartment above the rearview mirror and took out her sunglasses. “Out with it, Foster. Any questions about the job?”

  I shook my head. Not the job, but her. I was curious what made her choose this life and wondered if she held scars similar to mine. Was she a loner? I knew she was single and lived in an expensive maintenance-free condo in the heart of Edington.

  “What you asked me to do was stupid,” Frances continued, “but admirable. I wouldn’t have shot the dog unless I absolutely had to.”

  “So that makes you stupid, too?”

  My partner chuckled. “No. I believe it makes us human.” She glanced at me through her shaded eyes. “In our line of work we encounter the scum of the earth. People who’d steal from a homeless person, people who’d sell drugs to twelve-year-olds. Makes you question what humanity has come to. That German Shepherd was doing his job. He would lay down his life for Carter despite his master being a piece of shit. I’d hate to kill a selfless creature like that unless there’s no other choice.”

  Frances expelled a heavy breath. “You didn’t run. You reacted with textbook precision and that dog was a trained protection dog. It would most likely go for your arm.” She paused. “Although, God knows what Carter trained him to do. But make no mistake, that dog would rip your throat out if he felt threatened.”

  I shrugged. “Always that gray area.”

  “I’ve never had a partner with more balls than you.”

  “Uh, thank you?” My lips twitched.

  We exchanged glances and burst out laughing. The tension of the morning finally faded like sand through fingers. “Are we dropping off the dog at the sheriff’s office or animal control?”

  The occupants of our van were Carter and his tranquilized canine. We’d secured the dog with a basket muzzle we found in his master’s belongings.

  “Sheriff’s office. He may be hel
d for evidence against Carter skipping bail and resisting arrest.”

  “What’s going to happen to his dog?”

  “Depends,” she replied, the corners of her mouth drooping.

  “On what?”

  “Carter has the right to ask one of his family members to come get it. Otherwise, the county guidelines apply and the dog enters the municipality’s general pet population and goes up for adoption.”

  “Crap,” I muttered.

  Frances grunted a non-response.

  If Carter’s dog proved too dangerous and couldn’t be adopted, it would have to be euthanized.

  * * *

  “You bitches! You hurt my dog!”

  Deputies hauled Carter off for processing. Carter was a major player in a drug-dealing network operating in the Southeast. The diligent investigators from the sheriff’s office busted one of his properties and found a considerable stash of oxycodone, heroin, and cocaine—enough evidence to put him away for a long time. A week ago, a powerful kingpin managed to get him out on bail.

  He ran. Frances and I brought him in.

  Spittle flew everywhere as he vowed eternal damnation on our ancestors and descendants. In the course of his rant, we found out the GSD’s name was Sarge. The county’s K-9 unit took him into their kennel for now.

  “Asshole. What did he expect when he set the dog loose?” Frances muttered. She looked at me. “Want to do the paperwork?”

  “Kate?” a voice asked behind us.

  I groaned inwardly as I turned toward the sheriff of Buckland County, Trent Stone. He also happened to be my brother-in-law.

  “Haven’t seen you in a while,” he said, stepping up to us and nodded to my partner. “Frances.”

  “Sheriff,” she acknowledged.

  “I’ve been busy,” I replied.

  He grinned. “Obviously. Good job bringing in Boyd Carter, ladies.”

  “Took us an entire week to track him down, but it was worth it,” Frances answered. She raised a brow at me as if to get a read on the situation between Trent and me.

  “I’m sure BailWorks will pay you well.” Trent frowned at my lacerated leather jacket. “You hurt?”

  My arm was throbbing and I was sure it had swelled, judging from the heat emanating from where Sarge clamped down on it.

  “It’s nothing.” I shrugged.

  “Kate.” The sheriff’s narrowed gaze told me he thought I was full of shit.

  “I’m fine,” I repeated firmly.

  An awkward silence fell upon us.

  “Well, gotta fill out some paperwork—” I started.

  “Can I talk to you—” Trent began to say.

  “I’ll handle the paperwork,” Frances volunteered and I struggled not to glare at her.

  The last thing I wanted was to talk to the sheriff.

  Trent directed a thankful nod at my partner and quickly pivoted and headed to his office. My shoulders drooped, having no choice but to follow him, given my best excuse was gone.

  When we got into his office, Trent gestured to a chair as he closed the door. I remained standing, hands tucked into my back pockets.

  His face hardened when he took my refusal to sit as my rebellion against this conversation.

  He was right.

  “When I approved your license to become a bounty hunter, I wasn’t expecting you to cut ties with your brothers and sister.”

  “I talked to Cassie two weeks ago,” I protested.

  “And she’s called and left you many messages since then, all unreturned.”

  “I’ve been after a skip.”

  Trent snorted derisively. “You were in town the week before last.”

  I stared at my brother-in-law. “Trent, I’m sorry if your approval of my license is causing friction between you and Cassie.”

  He waved his hand impatiently. “Your sister isn’t that petty. She misses you. She hasn’t seen you in a month and she’s worried about you.”

  I couldn’t ask for a better man for Cassie. It made it easier for me to stay away, knowing she was in good hands. At first I was skeptical that there was a man alive capable of handling my strong-willed sister. Our past and background didn’t make it any easier. A lesser man would have run, but Trent faced the town of Misty Grove and its unusual inhabitants head-on.

  “How can she have time to miss me? Isn’t she helping out at TAC?”

  TAC (Trident Asymmetrical Combat) was the recently formed training camp for law enforcement officers, preparing them to handle the changing face of terrorism both domestic and abroad.

  Trent dragged his fingers through his dark hair. The clenched angles of his jaw heightened the frustration in his voice. “She thought you were dead for twelve years. Now that she has you back, don’t you think she’ll make the time to see you? Catch up with you?”

  “Trust me. It’s better this way.” I forced the words through the knot in my throat.

  “How can you say that?”

  “I’m very happy Cassie has you and that Matt has Grace,” I stated carefully. “As for Lucas, as long as he has Cassie, he’ll be fine.” Matt was my twin, while Lucas was Cassie’s. “I don’t belong in Misty Grove. I’m not sure I belong anywhere.”

  “You belong with family,” Trent argued gruffly.

  Family.

  “I’m broken, Trent.” Numbness chilled my heart. “The things that were done to me, and the things I had to do …” I shook my head. “I’m tapped out. I hoped to save Piper, but I lost her anyway.”

  “Whatever you had to do,” Trent said roughly. “You made it out. For Matt. For Cassie and Lucas.”

  “I can’t do it again.”

  The sheriff looked at me in confusion.

  “Caring too much!” My voice quavered as the root of the issue was exposed like a reopened wound. “I can’t lose anyone else. If I lose someone else, there’s no coming back.”

  “You’re confusing responsibility with caring … with just being there for them,” Trent coaxed. “They’re not expecting you to keep them safe.”

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered, glancing at the door. “I have to go.”

  “Kate,” the sheriff sighed when I moved toward the exit. “I didn’t mean to push you. Lately, Cassie’s got this sad look on her face and I know it’s because she couldn’t get hold of you. I just”—his shoulders hitched—“want to make her happy.”

  Tenderness warmed my chilled soul. I couldn’t help but walk up to Trent. His brows drew together in query. My smile was bittersweet as I hugged my brother-in-law. His arms quickly came around me and squeezed tight.

  I pulled back and stared up into his slate-blue eyes. “You’re an amazing husband, Trent Stone. Never doubt that you make Cassie happy. My relationship with my sister is a blip in the scheme of things. I’ll call her tomorrow.”

  Relief flooded his face and his tense features relaxed. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Enhanced Soldiers were pragmatic. It was necessary for our survival in every tough situation we were put in. I wanted my siblings to be used to my infrequent check-ins. As long as they knew I was alive, they’d be fine.

  2

  Kate

  I left the sheriff’s office soon after. Frances was finishing up and said she would mail me the check. That would help my dwindling funds. Instead of heading straight for my run-down apartment, I drove around for a while.

  When I fled Misty Grove after Piper got killed, all I had was some cash, a pickup, and the clothes on my back. Her death, coupled with my having had just come out of a catatonic state, numbed me to all emotions except anger. I was furious at Colt Montgomery for following me; more so when I suspected he’d put a tracker on me.

  Somehow, I ended up in Brooklyn at the doorstep of Antonio Lucchetti who was a member of the Italian Mafia. We’d worked a job together to disrupt arms trafficking by the Irish Mob. We weren’t privy to whatever deal the CIA cooked up with La Cosa Nostra, but we hit it off as a team. Tony was only too happy to help me get rid of Colt by pretending to
be my lover. And get rid of him we did … only to have regret and guilt hit me later.

  I stayed with Tony for a couple of months but weddings took me back to Misty Grove. First it was Trent and Cassie’s. I was surprised because I never believed our kind had the propensity to build romantic relationships. We had only known familial love. My siblings tried but couldn’t get me to stay and I left again. But my frozen emotions started to thaw and opened my eyes to how cruel I’d been to Colt who’d done nothing but take care of me when I was helpless.

  A blast from a car horn jolted me out of my thoughts.

  “Shit.” I swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, wincing as the movement made the dog bite on my arm throb. I needed sleep. My reflexes were shot and I had probably missed the red light behind me. I made a U-turn and pointed my Suburban in the direction of my apartment and resumed my brooding.

  Not even two months had passed after Trent and Cassie’s wedding when Matt told me he was getting married. The drama of Matt’s wife getting kidnapped by the Mexican Cartel’s hitman distracted me from my conflicted feelings but strengthened my resolve to stay. I couldn’t be who I once was. But if my family needed my help, I wouldn’t hesitate.

  Living in Misty Grove wasn’t an option. Piper had been killed right in the middle of town. While, genetically, I was conceived to be strong in mind and body, there was only so much I could endure.

  To protect my sister, I did what I was told and I allowed all kinds of drugs into my body.