A visible shudder went through her body. Yes, the waiting had been worth it. The anticipation had built and now she would welcome him.
She dropped the short robe and his mouth went dry. This was the most he’d seen of her body. She was so beautiful. The few times he’d burned her with cigarettes, her fair skin had glowed hotly as if he’d set her on fire. Odd, he didn’t see them anywhere. Her breasts were covered, but he remembered creating a cluster of burns on her stomach. It had been eight years. They must have faded with time.
Singeing her lovely skin had been painful for him. She had been so defiant back then, so resistant to the inevitable. Things were much better now. All of that was ancient history.
Holding out his hand, he led her to the steps of the pool. It was late morning, so it should be heated to just the right temperature. Stepping down, he turned to pull her down to him, then stopped and froze. Once again, he felt as if something was not right; something was missing.
“The scars…where are they?”
“What?”
“Your scars. They’re gone.”
Her eyes widened and he saw absolute terror in them. “I…” Her throat worked convulsively. “Th—they must have faded.”
Lies. Her words said one thing, her face something else. A horrible, incredulous feeling swept through him. He told himself he was crazy. This had to be his McKenna. Not only did she look just like her, but she had acted as if she were McKenna. Why would she do this if she wasn’t? Why wouldn’t she have told him?
There was only one way to make sure. He had given her his brand. Why the hell hadn’t he checked before?
“Turn around.”
“What?”
Fury geysered through him. “I said, turn around.”
She made a little stumbling turn and then gasped when he pulled the bottoms of her swimsuit down. Her ass was unblemished. There were no marks; there was no brand.
She’s not McKenna.
He pushed her hard; she fell forward onto the concrete, catching herself on her hands and knees. Her smooth, bare bottom pointed up at him. Mocking him. Damon looked around for something, anything to hit her with but could find nothing. Unable to control the fury long enough to go find a weapon, he pulled down his briefs. She might not be McKenna, but she was about to learn a hard, painful lesson.
Pushing her down, Damon fell on top of her. Fury and lust roared in his head, drowning out the screams of the woman who wasn’t McKenna.
London
The hospital had been necessary after all. Fortunately, she’d been so out of it, she hadn’t known she was being taken to a hospital. And with Lucas’s money and contacts, almost no one knew she was there. Another blessing in knowing Lucas Kane.
“Are you ready to go home?”
McKenna looked up as Lucas stood in the doorway. The first time she’d seen him, she’d likened him to a golden Adonis. Everything about him was bright and golden. He was a light…her light.
“More than ready.”
“Good. You still need some recuperation time, but you can do that at home much better than here.”
He took her hand and helped her to her feet. She should be thanking him for his help and explaining that she could recuperate just as well in Paris. McKenna knew she needed to leave. She should leave. And she would…soon. But not yet.
Wobbling slightly, she grasped Lucas’s arm to steady herself. Odd how she’d avoided touching people, especially men, for years. Now, touching this man felt so natural, so right.
“Want me to carry you?”
Her heart said yes; her independent, no-nonsense brain said no. She shook her head. “I need to build up my strength as much as possible.”
“The car is around back. No one will see us, but just in case, I’m going to put this jacket and hood over your head. Okay?”
She had yet to tell him anything of her past, but somehow Lucas recognized her need to remain anonymous. Telling him would come soon. He had done too much for her not to be totally honest with him. And he needed to understand the reasons she absolutely had to leave once she was well.
Holding on to his arm, she walked the short distance to the elevator. In most hospitals, a wheelchair was usually a cardinal rule. Another perk of knowing a man like Lucas. Certain rules could be ignored.
By the time she made it out of the elevator and through the door that led to a back alley, she was so weak she was beginning to wish she’d taken Lucas up on his offer to carry her or at the very least that she had a wheelchair. Thankfully, the limousine was only a few steps away. The door opened, and McKenna practically collapsed into the backseat.
Lucas settled beside her. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he brought her head to his chest and whispered, “Rest, love. We’ll be home soon.”
Home. McKenna closed her eyes and savored the warmth and comfort she knew she’d only ever find in this man’s arms.
Holding close the treasure in his arms, Lucas let go of the tension that had strung him tight for days. She was going to be all right. He’d thought he was going to lose her. Considering McKenna’s desire to stay anonymous, taking her to a hospital had been risky. He’d had no choice. She had needed the most up-to-date equipment to save her life. He could have gotten the equipment into his house, but that would have taken time, and time was one thing they’d almost run out of. The pneumonia had almost taken her from him.
For a man known to be one of the most unflappable operatives in IDC history, he’d come close to losing it several times. When she’d been struggling for every breath that came from her tortured lungs, he’d been breathing with her, willing her to live.
Now that he knew she was going to be all right, he had another battle on his hands—one he intended to win also. She would want to leave soon. He’d seen it in her expression earlier. She had considered telling him she wouldn’t go with him. He was thankful she had changed her mind. Having an argument with her while she was still so weak wouldn’t have been enjoyable. But he would have had it out with her if she had tried to leave. Fortunately, that hadn’t been necessary, but it would be soon.
Most of the things he knew about her were still the things he’d learned from the investigators’ reports. When she’d been feverish and restless, she’d mumbled a few things. Not a lot, but enough to confirm his suspicions. She was hiding from someone. He needed to know who and why.
Though Damon Hughes was dead, perhaps it was someone he had been associated with. A relative or friend? The police were no longer looking for her. So why the fear and the secrecy?
She snuggled in his arms and Lucas felt his heart pound faster. Of all the women in the world he had known, and there had been many, why did this one small woman create such a mass of unrivaled feelings within him? He wasn’t an emotional person. It had just never been in his makeup. His father had been the fiery, emotional one in the family. Lucas was known more for his cold, objective reasoning.
Growing up with a man like Phillip Kane, Lucas had sometimes felt more the parent than the child. He’d loved his father, but seeing him look for something all his life and never find it, Lucas had determined early on that to have those kinds of wants and needs only led to heartache.
And he was more than aware that the woman lying in his arms had broken through those barriers.
Common sense told him to get his head together. From the moment he met McKenna, he’d felt this odd connection with her. While he willingly admitted that, it didn’t mean that he had to behave like a complete idiot. A man could have affection for a woman without going completely crazy over her. McKenna was a special woman and he would do everything in his power to make sure not only that she stayed safe but that she knew he cared deeply for her. That sure as hell didn’t mean he had lost his mind over her. He was a grown man, not a pubescent teenager. One who had control of his body, his mind, and his heart.
She stirred suddenly. Sleepy eyes blinked open and were unfocused for an instant. Then, as if she realized where she was and who he
ld her, she smiled. His chest tightened almost painfully, and Lucas gritted his teeth, reminding himself of his self-lecture barely five seconds before.
“I’m so glad you’re here with me,” she whispered.
Holding her closer, Lucas looked out at the green and brown landscape speeding by as the vehicle headed to his estate. Perhaps he was more like his father than he thought.
Palm Beach
Damon stood over the body of Carlos Ortez, his former, and now very dead, investigator. It had taken days to hunt down the bastard. He’d apparently heard about his enormous mistake and had gone into hiding. While Damon waited for him to be found, his fury had built to monstrous proportions. When Carlos had stumbled from the van that carried him inside the compound, Damon had detonated.
His favorite knife, the one he always carried clipped at his waist, had been in his hand and then deep inside Carlos’s gut before the man knew what was coming. It had been years since he had enjoyed a killing as much as this one. Carlos was soaked with blood. Damon didn’t have a speck on him.
Years ago, he had killed in violence, without regard to either the consequences or the mess. Now, not only was he more controlled in his kills, they were some of the cleanest. It was a challenge he liked to give himself. The bloodiest of killings without a spot on him. He was a perfectionist, and looking down at his pristine white shirt and pants, he realized he had reached perfection. What made it even more amazing was he’d never killed anyone when his mind had been fueled by so much fury. Not even McKenna’s parents had caused such anger.
The man had died in excruciating agony. Damon only wished he could do it all again but make it even more painful. The idiot had kidnapped the wrong fucking woman. Not only had Damon treated the bitch with kindness and hospitality, he’d been ready to marry her. Carlos had received his just deserts. And so had the woman.
He hadn’t killed her, as he’d wanted. Though he’d been about to wring her scrawny neck, she had whispered an apology for her deceit. That had saved her life. Besides, killing her would have been too easy, so he had sold her to one of his clients. Since she had been a bit hideous-looking when he had finished with her, she hadn’t brought the price he would have gotten otherwise. But money hadn’t been important. It was her punishment he wanted, not a profit. Just because he’d spared her life didn’t mean she didn’t deserve great punishment.
He hadn’t bothered asking her why she hadn’t told him at the beginning. What good would that have done? What was done was done. She might have apologized, but her apologies hadn’t made his pain disappear. He made sure she sincerely regretted her deception.
The woman would eventually heal and the man she belonged to would get good use of her. Or she would be sold to someone else. It didn’t matter. She didn’t matter.
McKenna. She was what mattered. He had thought he had her back with him. But she still eluded him. His heart cried out for her. His body ached to feel her warm, soft body beneath him. Now he had to hire a new team of investigators and they had to start all over again.
Fury refueled and washed over him; he kicked viciously at the bloodied, lifeless body. Pulling his foot back, Damon cursed violently. He’d gotten blood on his shoe after all.
London
McKenna blinked sleep away. Sitting up, she leaned against the headboard, pleased to realize that for the first time in days, she was clearheaded and felt halfway human. She was still weak, but a few good meals should take care of that.
Decisions had to be made soon. Lucas had been so wonderful to her, and she had taken advantage of him. She couldn’t do that much longer. The longer she stayed, the more she wanted to stay forever. Forever with Lucas was an impossibility, and the time had come to accept that. She’d been living in a dream for almost two weeks. In a few days she would be well enough to leave. And leave she must. That was the only forever in her future. Leave Lucas forever.
Oh God, it hurt to admit that. Lucas was everything she’d dreamed of when she was a teenager. A knight in shining armor, gallant, kind, and devastatingly handsome. Every young girl’s dream. And then had come Damon and all of her fantasies disappeared. Damon had replaced them with horror, death, and destruction. Abuse. Everything hell consisted of was inside Damon. He had destroyed those girlhood dreams. She had never thought to have anything like those feelings back inside her. Lucas had returned them to her, and she would be forever grateful to him. There were true white knights in this world.
But she was no damsel in distress and she was most certainly not a princess. She had a role and a purpose. She rescued people and she saved lives. Her purpose and life were important. Even if she didn’t have a maniacal murderer hunting for her, Lucas’s world and hers could never be the same.
“You appear to be feeling much better.”
She smiled as Lucas came into the room. “Almost one hundred percent, thanks to you.”
He sat on the edge of the bed. “Feel like getting up and having breakfast with me?”
“Absolutely. For the first time in days, I’m ravenous.”
“Good. I told the cook you were feeling better, so I think you’ll be pleased with her offering.”
A knock on the door had Lucas stalking toward it. She heard his deep voice thank Conrad for the delivery, and then Lucas rolled in a loaded cart filled with enough food to feed a family of six.
Her stomach growled in approval. “It smells wonderful.”
“Come eat.”
McKenna got to her feet. She knew Lucas watched her to make sure she was steady, but she appreciated that he allowed her to stand on her own without trying to hold her up. She needed to regain her strength as soon as possible. The reason behind that need dampened her spirits, but McKenna refused to acknowledge it. For the here and now, she was with Lucas. She would face what she had to do later.
The nightgown was a bit skimpier than she would have liked, and she was thankful for the robe lying at the end of the bed. She knew Lucas had undressed her…knew he had seen the scars. It was time to answer those questions gleaming in his eyes.
First breakfast, then the truth. Lucas needed to know everything. Who she was and what she had done. And then he would understand why, very soon, she would have to leave him forever.
twelve
Lucas had concurrent feelings running through him as he watched McKenna slowly make her way across the room. On one hand, he was enormously relieved to see the color in her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes. She was beginning to look like the old McKenna. On the other hand, dread and sadness swept over him. McKenna was gearing herself up to leave.
She didn’t know that every expression on her face had been open for him to read from the moment he met her. If he told her, she’d try to mask her thoughts. It was hard enough that McKenna had secrets; damned if he’d give her another way to hide from him.
Filling a plate with some of her favorites, Lucas handed it to her and then sat down, ready to be exquisitely tortured. Watching McKenna was incredibly sexy. The way she ate, the sounds she made, everything about her consumption of food turned him on. It was the oddest thing, but no way in hell did he plan to deprive himself of those moments, no matter how torturous they were.
She took one bite of toast and then dropped it back on her plate.
He frowned at her bent head. “Something wrong?”
“My full name is McKenna Sloan and my entire family was murdered because of me.”
He didn’t say anything. Whatever he said wouldn’t be appropriate, so he waited.
When she lifted her face to look at him, Lucas’s chest went so tight it hurt—a reflection of the pain brimming in her eyes.
“We lived in Nebraska, in a little town outside of Omaha. My mom, dad, my little sister, Amy, and me. Amy was two years younger.” A small smile. “She followed me around everywhere…drove me crazy. She’s the one who told them about Damon.”
“Damon?”
The pain in her eyes became even starker. Lucas saw hell—pure, unadulterated,
life-destroying. “I met him at the movies. He seemed so grown-up, so much cooler than the other boys. He was already out of school. I was sixteen, almost seventeen. Damon told me he was nineteen. Turns out he was really twenty-three. I didn’t know his real age until much later.
“I told my parents about him, but they told me he was too old for me. That I couldn’t date him.” Her gaze went unfocused. “We met each other secretly for a few weeks.” She shook her head slowly. “I hated the sneaking around. Had decided to go to my parents and confess everything. Before I could work up the courage to talk to them, Amy spilled the beans.
“My mom and dad were loving and incredibly supportive but also strict. I hoped, once they got to know Damon, they’d see him the way I did. They were furious, of course, but they finally agreed to meet him. Meeting him didn’t change their minds. They were so much wiser…saw through his façade. He was an older man trying to take advantage of their teenage daughter. Our age difference seemed insignificant to me, but to them he was a child predator. They told me I couldn’t see him again.”
She wrapped her arms around her body and began rocking. He recognized the signs of grieving, the need for comfort. And that was why he was here. Standing, Lucas pulled her into his arms; carrying her to an overstuffed chair beside the fireplace, he sat down.
As usual, when she sat in his lap, she snuggled her head against his chest. He waited. This was her story, her hell. He could do nothing but let her expose it the way she needed to.
“I once again disobeyed them…for several months. Snuck out when they were in bed. Said I was going to a friend’s house but instead went out with him. Then it got to be too much. I despised lying to them. We were always so close, but I felt this gap between us and it was eating at me. Even though I still didn’t agree with them about Damon, they raised me to be honest.
Last Chance Page 13
