He was counting on Damon wanting to be the one to kill him. Yes, he was making some dangerous assumptions, but his life had once been full of risks and he’d never been personally invested in doing more than achieving his goal and surviving. This was completely different. He was risking everything for McKenna for one reason only: because she was worth the risk.
Palm Beach
Damon stood in the middle of his dressing room and observed himself in the triple full-length mirror. Odd, but he suddenly felt a bit nervous about seeing McKenna again. The fake bitch who claimed to be McKenna had looked at him like she thought he was attractive. And the other women he’d been with over the years had all assured him with their lust that he still had the kind of looks that made a woman wet and ready. But this was the real McKenna. Eight years had passed. Would she still find him attractive? He’d been twenty-three years old when they met, twenty-four when they were torn apart. Would she think he had changed much?
Turning side to side, Damon examined himself. He’d gotten the best features from both his parents. Dark brown eyes. Good hair—thick and medium brown with a hint of auburn highlights. The hair had come from his mother; his height and physique came from his old man.
In high school, all the girls had panted after him; he’d taken the good-looking ones up on their offer. McKenna had been different from any other girl. She hadn’t fallen all over him, but she’d been so cute and sweet, so incredibly innocent, he’d practically fallen all over her.
Drawing closer to the mirror, he examined his face. No doubt about it—he had only gotten better-looking with age. McKenna had fallen for him when he was a good-looking young man. Now he was older, handsome, ultra-sophisticated. He had the money to buy her anything and everything a woman could want.
In a couple of years, he’d allow her to have a baby, maybe even two if the first one didn’t spoil her figure. Though he kind of liked the idea of McKenna swelling up with his seed. She’d have a boy and Damon would raise him right. Wouldn’t leave him to go out drinking or partying the way his mama had, or beat the shit out of him like his old man had. He’d teach him all the things it was important for a man to know. Things Damon had learned the hard way. His son would have what he’d missed out on.
A knock on the door had him turning. He was expecting some news of the bitch who’d faked being McKenna. Elliott, one of the men who’d been with him for years, stuck his head in and reported, “They don’t want to give her up. Said they’re very pleased with their purchase and hope you understand.”
Pleasing a business associate was much more important than returning some whore, especially since she had lied to him. Damon shrugged. “One’s as good as another. Can Lilly stand up yet?”
“Yeah, I saw her walking yesterday. Kind of slowlike, but she was moving.”
“As long as she’s able to walk, that’s good enough. Get a wig about the length and color of that woman’s hair. We’ll put it on Lilly. She’s no good to me now, anyway. Hell, I doubt I could pay anyone to take her off my hands after what Carlos did to her.”
A smile of admiration lifted the man’s thick lips. “Will do.” He turned to leave.
“Oh, and Elliott, make sure Lilly doesn’t give us away. McKenna may have some people with her. Make sure they have no reason to doubt her identity. Explain that a bullet in her back would be a hell of a lot worse than the rough ride she got from Carlos.”
Another nod and Elliott went out the door.
Damon turned back to the mirror, his smile even brighter. McKenna’s little ultimatum hadn’t sat well with him, anyway. Why should he have to give up anything? If she’d done what she should have, none of this would have been necessary. She thought she had him right where she wanted him, but she would soon learn that Damon had more than a few tricks up his sleeve.
Laughter burst from him. He couldn’t wait to see her face when he put his plan in place.
McKenna sat across from Noah on the private jet. Dylan and Aidan were at the other end of the plane talking quietly. Samara and Micah were lying down in the small bedroom.
They were bound for Tampa, where she would finally face her past. She and Noah had gone over the scenario three times since she’d come onboard. The flight was a long one, but she knew Noah. He would want to go over it with her at least twice more before they landed. He was that thorough. And that worried.
He hadn’t voiced his thoughts, but she knew he had doubts. Not necessarily about her abilities, just about this being the right thing to do.
She couldn’t deny the uncertainties herself. She wasn’t naïve enough to believe their plan would go off without a hitch. But this was the only way she knew to ensure the safety of Jamie Kendrick, as well as finally end the horror of what she’d lived with for so long.
If only she’d been brave enough years ago to have figured out a way to get rid of Damon. But she hadn’t, and now a woman had been tortured, probably raped, and at the very least traumatized…all because of her own lack of courage.
“Stop it, McKenna.”
She looked up at Noah’s grim face. “Stop what?”
“Stop blaming yourself for the acts of a perverted maniac. You’re not responsible.”
“Hard to not blame myself. If I had faced him years ago, this woman would never have been abducted.”
“Damon Hughes is the monster. You should never have had to face him at all.”
McKenna took a breath. She’d had time to think some things over, and though she hated to admit what she considered a major weakness, her boss needed to know. “I’ve killed bad people before, Noah. Men who raped, murdered, tortured—done despicable things. It made me physically sick to do it, but I knew I didn’t have a choice.”
“And?”
“Damon has done all those things…not only to me and my family but to others. He deserves to die.” She swallowed and admitted softly, “I just don’t think I can do it.”
His brow furrowed, Noah shook his head. “It was never my intent for you to kill him.”
“But if there’s anyone I should kill, it’s Damon. He murdered my family, destroyed my life.” She swallowed again. “I don’t want to kill him, though.”
“Why is that, do you think?”
She hated telling him this, but she needed to talk to someone. “Because the thought of killing him terrifies me.” She laughed humorlessly. “Isn’t that the craziest thing? A demon that I want to see dead more than anyone else on this earth, but I’m so afraid of being the one to do the deed.”
“That’s not crazy at all. The other men you killed, you didn’t do it out of hatred or revenge. You did it to survive or save a life. It was your job. But if you kill Damon, it will be personal. For revenge.” He shook his head. “Killing for revenge isn’t in you, McKenna. You’re not a killer.”
As Noah’s words sank in, something eased inside her; McKenna felt a lightening of the burden she’d carried since her family died. For so many years, her entire being had ached for Damon’s death. And for so many years, she’d called herself a coward for not confronting him.
And now another person was suffering. Yes, she hated what had happened to Jamie Kendrick, but Noah was right. Placing the blame where it belonged was not only correct, it helped lessen the terror of facing him.
She would view Damon as a monster who needed to be put away, but the responsibility of killing him was no longer on her shoulders. Her parents wouldn’t have wanted her to avenge their deaths in this way. She would see this through to the end. Damon would go to jail, where he belonged, and this time he would stay there.
And McKenna would finally be at peace.
Lucas’s image instantly came to her mind. Without Damon and her fear hanging over her head, could she have something with him? She knew he cared for her. What his true feelings were she couldn’t begin to guess. Lucas was a master of not revealing how he really felt. But the way he had made love to her, cared for her when she was sick, been so compassionate when she told him about her pa
st…he had to have strong feelings for her.
Despite what lay ahead, McKenna suddenly felt an optimism she never thought she’d have. She would survive this one last experience with Damon and then she would go to Lucas. Her life had not been simple for so long. But this was simple. She was in love with Lucas Kane, and in a week, maybe less, she would return to England.
Was she being overly confident? Perhaps, but she had put her life on hold for too long. She had a lot of catching up to do. And whether Lucas knew it or not, he had helped her reach the point where she wanted to have a real life.
She closed her eyes and imagined his beautiful smile when she appeared on his doorstep again. He would be so surprised.
seventeen
A warm breeze floated gently over her skin, soothing McKenna’s ragged nerves. When they’d left Paris, the weather had been damp and cold. Here, the sky was the blue of a bird’s egg, the sun blazed like a beacon, and everything seemed peaceful and nonthreatening. She hoped it was a portent of how the operation would go down.
They all stood on the long pier together. Noah was in front, facing her; Dylan and Aidan stayed several feet behind him. For men who often looked as though they chewed bullets for fun, all three had the same worry in their eyes. Their concern was touching, but it also made her even more determined to succeed.
As she expected, Noah reviewed the plan with her again. “Remember, the ring has a GPS radius of a thousand miles. If something happens and you get taken, we’ll find you. Your earpiece has a microphone, too. We’ll be able to hear you, and you can hear us. You see anything suspicious, anything strange, let us know. We’ll abort and go after him another way. Okay?”
Touching the plug in her ear lightly with her fingertip, she nodded. It was in place and working fine—it had been tested three times to make sure. She was as ready as she would ever be.
“As soon as Jamie passes you, drop down, lie flat on your face. We’ll start shooting. The tranquilizers should incapacitate him immediately. I don’t want you anywhere near Damon, not until he’s under lock and key. As soon as I call an all-clear, you run the other way. After he’s in custody, if you want to see him, that’s your choice.”
If she never saw Damon in this lifetime or any other, it would be too soon for her. However, she did look forward to seeing him in leg chains and handcuffs. The mental image of him shuffling around in chains, wearing an orange jumpsuit, was so enticing she could barely keep from laughing.
A glance down at her watch increased her heartbeat. The time was close. “We’re within an hour of his scheduled arrival. You guys better get out of here.”
Noah put his hand on her shoulder. “Just remember, we’re only a few feet away. Dylan will hide behind that post over there. Aidan is going to be stooped behind a rock on that incline.” He pointed to another giant post. “I’ll be behind that one. If anything goes wrong, seems out of place, I’ll say abort and you haul ass. Got it?”
“Got it,” McKenna said. She winked at Dylan, nodded her thanks at Aidan, and—in a move completely unprecedented for her—hugged Noah. If she’d ever had a big brother, she would have wished him to be just like Noah McCall.
Noah returned her hug and then backed away.
Taking several deep, even breaths, she strove for calmness and prayed for courage. In less than an hour, she might well be looking into the eyes of the one man she hated and feared above all others. She needed some alone time, away from everyone, to prepare. Whenever she was on an op, her conscious mind—at least the part where fear and nerves existed—shut down, enabling her to do her job with efficiency and determination.
Oftentimes, when the job was over, she would realize how scared she should have been. Nerves would attack her then. And occasionally, when she’d had to kill someone, she got sick. It wasn’t something she was proud of, and few people even knew about her problem. Actually, Lucas was probably the only one who knew. After she’d killed Victor, she’d passed out. Embarrassing, yes, but dangerous as hell, too. Thankfully, Lucas had been more than able to handle himself.
His face appeared once more in her mind, his image giving her peace as always. What was he doing now? Staying with him had given her insight into his daily routine. Today was Monday, so he would be at his office in London. He always met with his top executives on Mondays.
An interesting aspect she’d discovered was that Lucas had a routine and rarely veered from it. Silly, but she loved that about him. After living on the edge for so long, having a routine seemed so normal, so gloriously safe. God, how she would love to feel that safety. That security.
The sound of a speedboat caught her attention. McKenna straightened her shoulders. “Noah?” She uttered his name without moving her lips, if they were using high-powered binoculars, as Noah was, she didn’t want them to see her speaking.
“I see them…four men…don’t see a woman yet.” Noah’s calm, even voice came through as though he were standing next to her.
Several tense seconds passed. McKenna was about to ask for an update when Noah said, “Okay. They’re docking. I see what looks like a small woman. About your size. They’ve got a hood over her head.”
McKenna turned to see the speedboat putter into the narrow area between two small piers. She brought her hand up to her mouth as if she were coughing. “I’m going to get a little closer.”
She took slow, careful steps toward the boat, noting the four large men, along with a smaller person. From her vantage point, she couldn’t tell if the small person was a woman. McKenna continued to move toward them.
“Stop…wait, McKenna,” Noah said. “Do you see Hughes yet?”
Squinting, she carefully examined each man. Damon was about six feet tall, but these men appeared to be taller, bulkier. That was odd. Having what he considered to be his prized possession collected by his flunkies wasn’t really in keeping with Damon’s obsessive personality. That, along with his supreme arrogance, made her think he would take part in this event.
Pretending to push a strand of hair behind one ear, she covered her mouth and said, “No, I don’t see him.”
“I don’t like…Wait. She’s walking toward you. They removed the hood. Her head’s down, so I can’t see her face, but her hair is about the right length and color.”
McKenna breathed a relieved sigh, even as she felt a crushing disappointment. Damon wasn’t with them. They wouldn’t be able to get him. His men would be captured and questioned. Hopefully one of them would be willing to give up Damon’s location.
A harsh gust of wind ruffled the approaching woman’s hair; McKenna saw ink-black hair beneath. It wasn’t Jamie! Dammit, they’d been tricked!
Simultaneously Noah shouted, “It’s not Jamie. Get down, McKenna! Get down!”
The men in the speedboat jumped back into the boat and took off.
Before she could move, McKenna heard an odd noise. Wop, wop, wop. A fiercely loud whirring sounded overhead. She looked up, her breath catching on a gasp. A helicopter hovered above her; a large man she’d never seen before hung from a ladder with his arm outstretched.
Holy crap!
Noah shouted, “Dammit, run, McKenna. Get the hell out of there!”
Blanking out all noise and distraction, she made a split-second decision. Jamie was still missing. McKenna might be her only hope. She had no choice but to let Damon take her.
“I have to go with them, Noah. I have to find her.” Holding out her hand, she allowed the man hanging from the ladder to grab her. In an instant, her feet left the ground and she was soaring through the air.
Hanging on tightly to the man’s massive arm, McKenna looked down. The pier below grew smaller and smaller, but she was relieved that it remained empty. Noah and the others were still hidden. Anyone looking down would assume this exchange was something she’d done all by herself.
She could hear Noah’s voice in her ear. Although the sound of the helicopter was deafening, she was able to pick up quite a few swearwords. And then his voice lowere
d to its normal calm tone. “We’re tracking you, McKenna. We’ll find you.”
Despite the terror flooding through her, she knew this had been the only way. If Damon hadn’t killed Jamie, he had her stashed somewhere. McKenna owed it to the woman to find her.
Hanging on to the arm of the man who held her over the ocean, she closed her eyes and tried to find that center of calm once more. It was harder this time because she would be seeing Damon after all. And she would be in his lair. Surrounded by his people. People who would do exactly what he told them to do.
Closing her eyes, Lucas’s face appeared before her, reminding her what she had promised herself once this was over: a possible future with the man she loved. Resolve stiffened her backbone; she had too damn much to live for to panic now.
The game might have changed, but the end would still be the same. She would rescue Jamie Kendrick and they would both be safe.
Noah had gone ominously silent in her ear. The microphone range wouldn’t reach this far. Pretending to push her hair out of her eyes, McKenna pulled the earphone from her ear and let it drop to the ocean below. If Damon was to believe this was her idea alone, explaining an earphone would be impossible.
The man holding her started climbing. McKenna had no choice but to hang on to him. If she let go, she’d fall to her death. Massive muscles bulged as he held her with one arm and climbed upward. At last they reached the top and he threw her face-first onto the floor of the helicopter.
McKenna rolled over onto her back.
“Hello, darling.” Damon stood over her.
Forcing her lips into what she hoped was a believable smile, McKenna stared up at her worst nightmare. The smile must have worked. With an approving expression on his wicked face, Damon held out his hand to help her up; before she knew it, she was in his arms, his mouth over hers.
Last Chance Page 20
