by J. S. Scott
“And if it’s legally obtained, then it can be used to clear my name. That’s fucking perfect, Gavin.” I looked up to see Kane sitting forward in excitement as he replied, “We can’t go anywhere until this storm blows over, but as soon as it does, I’ll head back with you. With the Russians involved, it’s too fucking dangerous for you to be dealing with this on your own.”
“No fucking way, Kane. Or have you forgotten that you’re a wanted man? If I need help, I can always count on your brothers,” Gavin insisted.
“Fuck, no!” Kane argued. “Both of them are doing good for themselves. I’m not yanking them into this situation.”
“You know either one of them would die for you,” Gavin answered quietly.
“I know that. They’re both fucking crazy that way, which is why I don’t want them involved. I didn’t want you tangled up in this, either, but I didn’t have any choice.”
“It’s our business and my fucking fault you’re in this situation,” Gavin mentioned remorsefully.
“Our fault. You did this for business reasons. Don’t start blaming yourself for this fucked up mess. Neither one of us will be safe until these assholes are in jail,” Kane said in a warning voice, probably to remind Gavin that both of their lives hung in the balance, even if Kane was currently the one under suspicion.
I felt my stomach roll with worry. I didn’t know Gavin well, but he seemed to have the same nerves of steel that Kane possessed. I knew neither one of them would hesitate to do whatever it took to end the current situation so they could get their lives back again.
I had to speak. “If it matters, I don’t want either one of your lives in danger.”
The two men shifted their gaze to me, both of them smiling kindly as Kane replied, “We’ll be okay, Cupcake. Now that we know who is to blame and their motives, we just need to get the evidence into the right hands to tie the real killers to the crime—and make sure the evidence can be used in court. Finding out who the hell set me up was the hardest part.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Really? Don’t try to tell me all of this isn’t going to be dangerous.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you,” Kane agreed amiably.
I gave Thor one last pat before I stood. “I don’t like this. Why can’t you just go to the police with the evidence now? They’d have to look into it, right?” I argued.
Gavin shook his head. “That’s sort of what we’re doing. We just need to make sure this goes down the way we need it to, since we’re only going to get one shot to do this. And Kane can’t put himself in a vulnerable position. They might lock him up again since they’re pretty convinced he’s the perp. His DNA is all over the dead victim. He was there, and he was seen with her the night before. There’s very little doubt in the mind of the cops that Kane is their suspect.”
I shuddered, then tried to force myself not to think about the fact that Kane had been with the dead woman before she was killed. “How does she fit into the picture? Innocent victim?”
Gavin grunted. “Hardly. She was hired by the Russians to lure Kane to the hotel and drug him, though the poor woman clearly didn’t know what the hell she was getting herself into. Probably thought it was a simple job and easy money—just catch Kane’s eye, lure him back to the hotel and drug him. But I doubt she knew she was going to die.”
I couldn’t make myself feel any heavy remorse that the woman was dead. She had to have known the mafia was going to hurt or kill Kane. Obviously, she hadn’t cared about his fate as long as she got paid.
“So what exactly happens now?” I asked hesitantly, almost afraid to hear an answer.
“Not a damn thing,” Kane replied. “We have a blizzard raging outside, and nobody is going to be able to go anywhere.”
I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. “But you two are planning to do something stupid, aren’t you?”
“We never do anything without planning it out first,” Gavin remarked arrogantly. “And we’ll be successful.”
With a warning look in Gavin’s direction, Kane turned to answer me. “We need to go to Gavin’s contact in the FBI and see if he can pull a warrant. With luck, they’ll find the same evidence he did.”
Yet there was something they’d avoided speaking about in any detail. “But it’s dangerous, right? And Kane…you’re going to go with Gavin to keep him safe. Is that what you’re not telling me?”
“Anna, we still have to figure out the details, and nothing is going to happen until it stops snowing,” he answered huskily, the air between us filled with unspoken words about later, after the storm was over.
“I better take Thor out,” Gavin said as he stood up from his seat at the table. “I can crash upstairs.”
“It’s cold up there,” I protested adamantly.
“I turned the heat back on when I was upstairs.” Kane sounded like he was trying to calm me down.
“Whatever you have to do, I want to help,” I said stubbornly, knowing that I was willing to risk just about anything to get to the truth that would free Kane from suspicion.
I had no idea what my future with Kane might be, or if we even had one. But I had to admit to the fact that I cared about him enough to risk my own ass to save him.
“Not happening, Cupcake,” Kane grumbled. “Your sweet little ass is going to be someplace safe, like back at your diner making amazing fucking food.”
“He’s right, Anna,” Gavin said, backing up his partner. “This isn’t a game. It can get bloody and too damn dangerous. You don’t want to get caught up in this. You’ve been an innocent victim in this whole mess.”
“I’ve been buried alive and survived it. I lost both of my parents in the same avalanche—and I refuse to lose another person I care about,” I said haughtily, but I knew my eyes were pleading as I looked at Kane.
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. “Nobody is doubting your courage, Cupcake. You’re one of the bravest women I’ve ever met. That’s why I plan to make damn sure you’re safe.”
“I’m going to get going…let you two sort this out,” Gavin said as he tried to corral his monstrous dog up the stairs.
“Coward,” Kane teased, and grumbled as he stepped back and saw the furious stare I had fixed on him.
Gavin shook his head, putting his arms up in surrender. “This is between the two of you, and I know better than to get in the middle of anything involving a pissed off woman,” he admitted as he dragged his panting fur ball up the steps. “Have fun, buddy. And, Anna, don’t be too hard on my man, here. He means well.”
“I’ll talk to you, later,” I warned Gavin as he pushed and pulled a struggling Thor up the stairs, the canine obviously wanting to stay and play downstairs.
“What the hell did I do?” Gavin asked as he reached the top of the steps. “Damn! It’s not like I was the jerk who kidnapped you and got you involved in our shit.” Gavin nodded at Kane.
“Neither one of you are exactly innocent,” I reminded Gavin.
“Call me if you need backup, Kane,” Gavin said with a grin as he hightailed it out the door to the upstairs.
I turned back to Kane, our eyes locking in an intense battle of wills that I wasn’t certain I could win. But I certainly wasn’t going down without a fight when he was planning on doing something that could get him killed.
CHAPTER 23
Kane
I knew Anna was pissed off at me, but there was no way I was going to let her risk her life by coming with us. Alexei Petrov was a ruthless bastard, and he wouldn’t think twice about hurting Anna or using her as leverage to get to me and Gavin. I couldn’t take that chance. When it came to Anna, I knew I’d save her ass before I did my own.
I was just that far gone when it involved how I felt about her.
“I’m not happy, Kane.” That was pretty obvious, though as sexy as she was when she was angry, I couldn’t res
ist pulling her to me. My hands gripped her hips as I caught her mouth in a kiss—only to have her break away from it and shoot me a glare. “You do not get to distract me with kisses, damn it.”
I was tempted to suggest sex as an alternative distraction, but I highly doubted that would improve her mood. “Anna…I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“What I want you to say is that you won’t abandon me at my diner, and then go off and get yourself killed.” This time, it wasn’t just anger in her voice and eyes. It was panic and worry—and she had every reason to think this might not go down well. But that was exactly why I had to do everything in my power to keep her safe.
“I have no intention of getting myself—or you killed—which is exactly why you’ll be going home. And staying there. This isn’t up for debate, Anna.” She might hate me now, but I’d find a way to manage if it meant keeping her safe.
“Like hell it’s not.” Her eyes shimmered with tears of anger and frustration, making me feel like a shit. Yet as stubborn as she was, this wasn’t going to go well…especially if she backed me into a corner and forced me to take more extreme measures. “How the hell am I supposed to just go about my day at the diner, frying up eggs and making toast, when you and Gavin might be going off to jail, or could end up lying in a pool of your own blood?”
Her voice cracked as she spoke those last words, her tears finally spilling over as she choked back a sob. I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly to me, knowing that she was right, and once I left, I may never get to see her again, depending on how this all played out. But there was one thing she was forgetting—I was a survivor, and I was determined to come through this alive so I could be with her again.
“I won’t be leaving for another day or two, unless the storm clears up by morning. But, Anna…I can’t take you with me.” I let her go, needing to put some distance between us before I did something stupid like haul her to our bed when I should be pushing her away, instead. Because it was becoming abundantly clear that the only way to keep her safe might be to put an end to what was between us.
“So, you’re just going to drop me off at my diner, and drive away. Just like that.” Her tears left tracks on her freckled cheeks, leaving me struggling with the urge to kiss her tears away.
And fuck, but it was killing me to see her hurting. I wanted nothing more than to dry her tears and reassure her that I’d find a way for us to be together. Yet that was the last thing I could do.
I needed to push her away, even if she hated me for it. “Let me get you that check. I promised you a million for your trouble, and it’s the least I can do for the trouble and inconvenience I’ve caused you.”
She looked like I’d just punched her in the gut. “So…that’s it? You just write me a check for my inconvenience, drop me off at my diner, and then drive away?” When I just stared at her coldly, she slapped me, her tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. “You’re such a prick.”
“What did you think this was going to be, Cupcake? Some sort of fairy tale, where we get to live happily ever after? Well, it’s fucking not. I’m the fucking asshole who kidnapped you. There was only one way this was ever going to end—and that was with me walking away from you.” Even if it fucking killed me.
Because I may be a fucking asshole, but Anna had captured my heart, and I’d do anything to keep her from harm—even if it meant I’d be miserable.
She shook her head, her cheeks wet with tears as she backed away from me, looking at me like she didn’t even recognize me. “Just don’t…don’t fucking touch me ever again, Kane. And you can keep your fucking money. Asshole.”
I reached out to take her hand, but she yanked it free, and headed for the bedroom door, slamming it shut behind her as I let out a ragged sigh, my heart breaking with a pain I didn’t think I’d ever get over.
Guess Gavin and Thor would be having some company upstairs.
CHAPTER 24
Anna
The minute I heard the door to the upstairs slam shut, signaling that Kane had left our bunker, I began to cry so hard I almost couldn’t breathe. Tears streamed down my face while sobs of agony shook my body, but those releases did nothing to ease the emotional pain.
I still grieved for my parents, and now I grieved a relationship, a closeness with a man I’d never experienced before.
It was all a game to entertain himself while we were trapped here. He’s the same prick who’d kidnapped me.
I climbed into the bed still sobbing, not even bothering to undress, and feeling like my heart had been painfully ripped from my chest.
Kane’s smell was still on the pillow, and I slammed my fist into it over and over again. “Bastard! I don’t need your damn money, and I don’t need you.”
The angry words I spoke aloud were the exact opposite of what my heart was telling me. It was reminding me that I felt miserable, and I did need him. The problem was, I wanted a man who didn’t exist.
It was all a lie. He just wanted to screw me ‘cause he was bored. I was nothing but a distraction from his problems. Nothing more.
Now that Gavin was here, and Kane was close to being free, he didn’t want anything to do with an only passably attractive red-headed, freckled woman like me. Not when he could go back to his blonde-haired, blue-eyed models that were more his type.
It took me hours to fall asleep, and when I woke up, I was exhausted. I crawled out of bed with my spirits so low I could hardly work up the energy to shower and get dressed.
I ignored the knock that sounded on the door upstairs before it opened.
“Hey, Anna? Do you want something to eat? I brought groceries.”
The voice wasn’t Kane’s, it was Gavin’s. I turned around and faced him as bravely as possible, since I’d be damned if I was going to let him see how badly I was hurting. “No, thank you,” I called up to him in a neutral voice.
“You have to eat,” Gavin reasoned. “We’re heading out after breakfast.”
His words were like a dagger to the heart, but I shook my head. “Just let me know when you’re ready to go.”
He hesitated at the top of the stairs, then disappeared again.
I assumed I wasn’t important enough for Kane to even bother with anymore. He’d sent Gavin to fetch me for breakfast, like I was a prisoner that he had to feed before release.
Let it go, Anna. Go back to your diner where you belong and treat this whole experience like one big, bad dream.
I waited for Gavin to come back and let me know they were ready to leave.
I climbed the stairs, not bothering to turn around for a last look at the place where I’d lost my heart.
Honestly, it didn’t matter because I hadn’t really loved Kane. Hell, I hadn’t really ever known him. The man I thought existed had only been there in my fantasies.
The real Kane was a giant, major prick.
When we went outside, I calmly climbed into the front seat of Gavin’s vehicle, only realizing that Kane was leaving his vehicle hidden here and riding with Gavin after I’d settled into the vehicle.
“I’ll drive,” Kane volunteered, snatching the keys from Gavin’s hand.
I jumped out as Kane got in. I didn’t want to be that close to him on the long trip down the mountain. “I’ll sit in the back,” I told Gavin woodenly as I jumped into the back seat so he could sit in the passenger seat.
“It’s okay, Anna. I’ll ride in the back,” Gavin said solemnly.
“No, thank you,” I murmured, hoping he’d just get in the damn car so we could make the long trek down.
The sun was shining, which put me in an even more somber mood.
It was still winter.
It was still damn cold.
But the sun was so bright that it was nearly blinding.
Somehow, I wished it was cloudy and snowing. I guessed it would seem more appropriate.
I held back my tears as I realized that I was all alone again. I thought I’d found—at the very least—a friend who I could talk to, someone who understood me and shared the pain of losing my mom and dad.
Unfortunately, I’d been deluding myself.
I was quiet during the trip, staring out the window, knowing that my parents were still out there somewhere on one of the rocky slopes.
I need you! I need you both so much right now.
“Make the next right, please,” I requested politely but firmly.
“Why?” Kane asked hoarsely.
“I want to go home,” I answered simply.
I spoke only to give him directions until we turned into the driveway of my parents’ small second home, and the place they’d spent the most time in after I’d graduated high school. When we finally turned into the drive, the driveway wasn’t plowed, but it didn’t matter.
I was home. This place had meant so much to my mom and dad that I’d never been able to sell it. In truth, it meant a lot to me, too, and some of my best childhood memories had been made in this isolated mountain retreat.
No fear or panic rushed up to meet me, and I wasn’t afraid to be in the mountains anymore. Right now, the sight of my parents’ home was actually a comfort.
I hopped out of the vehicle, and Kane grabbed my upper arms as I passed him on the way to the door.
“You okay, Cupcake? What is this place?” He handed me an envelope and my keys.
I cringed at the nickname he’d given me.
I didn’t want his sympathy.
I didn’t want his interrogation.
All I wanted was to be alone with my memories and finally make peace with the fact that my parents were gone.
“This house belonged to my parents, and it’s mine now. You’ve brought me home. That was all I really wanted.” I took my keys, but I tore up the envelope, knowing it held the check he’d promised me for my silence. “I won’t turn you in, but don’t slap me in the face by giving me money. I’m not some whore, Kane. I slept with you because I wanted to scratch my itch, too,” I lied.
