by Cora Seton
The really scary part—beyond the fact that he’d killed the man who was supposed to be his best friend—was that Aiden clearly believed what he was saying. That he thought he’d somehow saved her by murdering Jordan.
“And the fire in the hotel?” she asked softly. “Was that to protect me, too?”
At least he had the sanity left to look a little chagrined at that. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just wanted to start a little fire so I could rescue you and show you what kind of man I could be for you. But the fire got out of control. I still tried to save you, but that oversized pile of muscles got there before me.”
There were just some many things wrong with that entire line of thinking that it was impossible to point out all of them. Not that she would anyway. She didn’t want to piss him off anymore.
“How did you find me at that hotel anyway?” she asked.
If she could keep Aiden talking, there was a chance Dane would wake up. She hoped.
“I put a GPS tracking app on your phone.” His mouth edged up in a wry smile. “I’m in IT remember?”
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say, but it sure as hell wasn’t that. But before she could tell him what a complete dirtbag he was, he walked behind her to the far end of the barn and started doing something that made a lot of noise. She craned her neck to see what he was doing, but it was no use.
“Unfortunately, your phone got destroyed in the hotel fire,” he said conversationally. “So I was forced to call your dim-witted brother and pretend I was Jordan to get him to tell me where you were staying. I have to admit, I was fucking pissed off when I realized you’d hooked up with some muscle-bound cowboy who likes to play with fire. I thought you were better than that. Guess I had you all wrong.”
Aiden came back into her line of vision, a tin gas can in his hand. It sloshed loudly as he walked toward her. Skye’s heart began to pound. What the hell was he going to do with that?
He dropped to one knee on the ground and pulled off the top of the small spout, then tore a piece of cloth from the dirty white rag in his hand and stuffed it into the opening. Even from where she sat against the wall a few feet away, Skye could smell the gas fumes coming from the can.
He glanced at her as he tossed the rest of the rag on the floor. “What? You didn’t think I was just going to let you go, did you? I mean, I tried to get you to come with me, but you wanted to stay with your brother.”
He glanced at Dane, still passed out cold on the ground. That’s when Skye realized Aiden had never been the friend she’d thought he was. He had played her just as much, if not more, than Jordan ever had.
“You have to admit there’s a certain irony to burning you to death,” he added. “Since you’re sleeping with a fireman and all.”
“You’re not going to get away with this.” She sounded like a B-grade movie, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t let Aiden set fire to the barn. “They’ll figure out it was you.”
“I doubt that.” Aiden stood up and took a lighter from his pocket. “Like you said, everyone thinks Jordan killed me. I’ll just show up in New York in a few days with a nasty head wound and say I don’t remember anything. I’ll make sure I cry at your funeral, though.”
He was just about to flick the wheel on the lighter when the sounds of approaching sirens filtered through the barn.
Skye’s heart leaped. She opened her and screamed as loudly as she could, praying someone would hear her.
Cursing, Aiden shoved the lighter back in his pocket. He reached down and picked up a length of rag he’d tossed on the floor earlier, then walked over to her.
She kicked out with her legs, but Aiden simply brushed them aside and reached out to slam her head back against the wall. It hurt like hell and knocked her so dizzy that she couldn’t do anything but sit there helplessly as he stuffed the rag in her mouth and wrapped the ends around her head to tie it in place.
“I’m sorry it had to end this way,” He said as he walked back to the gas can and lit the scrap of fabric hanging out of it. “If you’d just stayed in New York with me, everything would have been different.”
Skye watched through blurred vision as he tossed the can toward the far corner of the barn. There was a thud and a whoosh, then the roar of fire reached her ears. In the back of her mind, she remembered Dane telling her that flames made noise, and willed him to hear them now. But her brother didn’t move. She pulled at the ropes, but that only tightened them around her wrists even more. Hot tears burned her eyes as she realized how useless it was to struggle. She and Dane were going to die just like their parents had. And all she could do was sit there while Aiden turned and walked out, leaving them to burn.
Chapter Nine
‡
The two police cruisers jerked in front of Jax the moment he stopped in front of his house. He was off his bike in a flash, but the cops were right behind him, telling him to stay outside as they ran up the front porch and kicked in the door. The urge to follow behind them was overwhelming, but he held back, knowing all he would do was get in the way.
Besides, if he’d gone into the house, he wouldn’t have seen the smoke coming from of the equipment barn.
Shit. There were enough fuel and petroleum products to blow the whole barn off its foundation.
Jordan—Aiden—whoever—had used fire to try to kill Skye once before. It couldn’t be a coincidence that one of his barns was burning now.
Jax raced toward the building, ignoring the flames rushing up the far wall as he ran inside. Another few minutes and the place would be burnt to the ground. The thought of Skye dying in there made his gut clench. She was alive. She had to be.
“Skye!”
He couldn’t hear much over the roar of the fire, which was consuming the back of the barn at a rapid pace already. But he wasn’t leaving until he checked everywhere. He ran around the tractor, almost stumbling when he caught sight of Skye bound and gagged and tied to a hook on the wall. Her eyes were wet with tears and she looked terrified as hell, but she was okay.
Thank God.
He slid to his knees in front of her, yanking the nasty rag up and over her head. He started to untie her wrists, but she shook her head, her eyes going wide.
Jax turned just in time see the barn doors slam shut.
Fuck.
He ran over to the doors and shoved, but they wouldn’t budge.
What the hell?
He peeked through the cracks of the doors to figure out what was blocking them and saw a silver minivan parked up against them. He and Skye were trapped.
Ignoring the smoke threatening to choke him, Jax sprinted over to Skye, kneeling down to untie the rope from her wrists. She’d yanked so hard trying to get free that the rough hemp had chafed them bloody.
“Dane is hurt,” she shouted over the roar of the flames. “By the tractor.”
Jax glanced over and saw Dane’s lying on the ground, dried blood covering the side of his head. Oh, damn.
Grabbing Skye’s hand, he tugged her to her feet. Coughing, she kneeled beside Dane while Jax check for a pulse. It was still beating steadily, but a pulse wouldn’t help much if they didn’t get out of here soon. If the flames got to the barn’s fuel tanks, they were all dead.
Jax spun around, looking for a way out as his eyes watered from the smoke. Why the hell had he only put one door in this place when he built it? Because he’d been worried about someone coming in stealing the equipment, especially the tractor.
Shit, that was it!
He slid his arms underneath Dane’s. “Help me get him on the tractor,” he shouted at Skye.
She gave him a confused look, but hurriedly did as he asked. “How are we going to get out with the door blocked?”
“We make a new door.”
The John Deere wasn’t exactly made for passengers, but he’d never taken the big rotary mowing attachment off the back from when he’d mowed last, and it had plenty of space for Skye and Dane.
Skye waite
d for him to get Dane positioned, then climbed on beside her brother.
“Hold onto him,” Jax said. “This might get rough.”
The barn was so full of smoke by now he could barely see the key to start the tractor. But the moment he turned it, the engine rumbled to life. He shoved the tractor into gear and popped the clutch, aiming the John Deere toward the door, just to the left of where the minivan was parked.
The heavy front end of the tractor slammed into the left vertical support beam of the door. It might move slowly, but the tractor was damn heavy, not to mention powerful. It smashed through the support beam and the heavy boards attached to it, hitting the corner of the minivan and pushing it aside as he kept going. A few pieces of burning wood showered down on him, but luckily nothing hit him, or Skye and Dane. He kept the big wheels churning, picking up speed and moving away from the fire engulfed barn, not stopping until he got far enough away for them to be safe.
He was just turning to check on Skye and Dane when a flash of movement in the middle of the horse pasture caught his attention. It was Aiden. And he was running for the main road. Apparently he’d figured out his scheme to kill them had failed. He was probably rethinking the wisdom of using his only means of transportation to block the doors of the barn because he wasn’t a very fast runner.
Jax considered going after him with the tractor, then changed his mind. Not only would that mean driving through the pasture fence, but it would also mean bouncing Skye and Dane around on the mower like a couple beans in a coffee can.
“Where are you going?” Skye yelled as he jumped off the tractor and over the rail fencing around the pasture.
Jax pretended he didn’t hear her. Skye would be pissed at him for chasing after a psychopath like this, but there was no way in hell he was going to let that asshole get away.
Putting two fingers in his mouth, Jax cut loose with the same loud whistle he used when he put oats out in the evening. Six horses lifted their heads, then came running. He wrapped his fingers in the mane of the first horse that got there—a big stallion named Thor—then he jumped up and threw his leg over the horse’s back. Thor bucked a few times, clearly not thrilled with the idea of being ridden bareback. But after a moment, he finally settled down and took off in the direction Jax urged him.
Thor was big, and he was fast. Aiden didn’t stand a chance in the big, open field. Jax caught up and ran him down in twenty seconds. At least Thor didn’t stomp on the asshole as he ran him over.
Jax let the big horse keep going for another hundred feet or so, then got him slowed down and turned around. He walked the horse back to where Aiden was lying on the ground, twisting and rolling in pain. Jax slipped down from Thor’s back and patted him on the rump to send him back to join the rest of the herd where they stood watching the whole scene play out with interest. By the time Thor rejoined them, they’d gone back to grazing.
Jax was hoping Aiden would give him some trouble because he really wanted to punch the hell out of the guy for all the shit he’d put Skye through. But one of Thor’s hooves had clipped the back of Aiden’s head and the man didn’t have a clue what the hell was going on, much less his own name at the moment. Dreading the walk back, but knowing he had to do it, Jax bent down and picked Aiden up, then threw him over his shoulder and headed for the fence.
Skye, Dane, and the cops were all waiting there for him. Jax was happy to see his best friend standing, though he didn’t look too steady.
The police officers took Aiden off his hands, cuffing him and leading him to their cruiser. As soon as they were gone, Skye threw herself into Jax’s arms.
“Don’t you ever do anything that crazy again!” she said.
Dane snorted. “What crazy part are you talking about exactly? Driving a tractor through the door of a burning barn with his girl and best friend riding on the mower attachment? Or riding a horse bareback to chase down a murderer?”
“Both,” Skye said.
Going up on tiptoe, she planted a big kiss on Jax. He knew he shouldn’t do it with her brother right there, but Jax said the hell with Dane and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back. God, he loved her so much. And as soon as they were alone, he was going to damn well tell her.
“I guess I’m going to have to get used to this, huh?” Dane asked drily.
Skye pulled back, but didn’t leave the circle of Jax’s arms as she gave her brother a smile. “Yes, you most definitely are.”
*
Jax sat back against the fence, his arm around Skye and her head on his shoulder as they watched the equipment barn burn. The fire department had arrived, but the building was a goner and so was all the equipment in it.
“Can you afford to replace both the barn and all the equipment?” Dane asked from the other side of Skye.
A paramedic had looked at Dane’s head and was adamant he was going to need some stitches and maybe even a night in the hospital to run a concussion protocol. Dane had promised he’d go as soon as the fire was out. Jax intended to make sure he did.
“Yeah,” he said in answer to his friend’s question. “Thankfully I carry full insurance on the place. There were a couple things I was thinking about changing anyway.”
Skye lifted her head from his shoulder to regard him thoughtfully. “How much change did you have in mind?”
Chapter Ten
‡
Skye lay stretched out on top of Jax, his hard cock still buried deep inside her as she tried to catch her breath from another one of those amazing orgasms he seemed to be able to bring out of her at will. Her cheek rested on his muscled chest, making it easy for her ear to pick up the rapid-fire heartbeat that confirmed he’d come just as hard as she had. She was never going to get tired of having sex with him.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He ran his fingers down her back, making her shiver. “I love you, too.”
She sighed, wishing they could stay in bed all day. But then she glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Her eyes went wide. “Dang it, Jax! You kept me in bed late again. I was supposed to be packing the truck for today’s deliveries already.”
She quickly pushed herself up into a sitting position, which only served to drive his cock deeper into her pussy, ripping long groans from both of them. As she tried to build up the energy to slide off him, his strong hands settled on her hips.
“Oh no you don’t,” she said, smacking his hands away and carefully climbing off him. It was tough to do, but she knew from experience that if she let him get his hands on her and he started guiding her up and down on him, they wouldn’t be getting out of this bed for another hour.
Jax chuckled, but let her go as she hopped out of the bed and ran for the en suite bathroom, sidestepping Rodeo where he lazed on the floor. “It’s not my fault I can’t get enough of you. I admit it. I’m obsessed with my fiancée.”
Skye couldn’t help but smile as she ran her brush through her hair. She and Jax had been engaged for a month now and he took great care in reminding her of that fact frequently.
He’d proposed to her two months to the day after she officially moved in with him, which had been the day after Aiden had tried to kill them. Of course, she’d said yes. That meant she now had to add planning a wedding to her already crazy busy to-do list. Not that she was complaining. She was so in love with Jax that the idea of being married to him still made her giddy with excitement every time she thought about it. After what they’d gone through to be together, planning a wedding while getting her new business up and running would be a snap.
She brushed her teeth as fast as she could, then quickly put on her make-up. When she came out of the bathroom, Jax was pulling on his uniform. She would never be comfortable knowing his job involved running into burning buildings, but she trusted his abilities and knew the people he worked with—including her brother—watched out for each other like family.
Still, as they headed for the door after breakfast, she said the same thing to him she said every mor
ning. “You’re going to be careful on this shift, right?”
He pulled her into his arms just like he did every morning. “I promise to be careful. I have the most beautiful woman in the world I love more than anything waiting for me at home.”
She kissed him, then together they walked outside. He headed for his pickup truck while she walked across the newly paved-in parking area toward her shop and the Comfort Cakes delivery van parked in front of it.
The equipment barn that had burned to the ground had been replaced with a new bakery barn, and while the back part still had some storage for tools, the entire front side was a full-service kitchen. Jax had taken the money from the insurance pay-off, added in a good chuck of his own cash and invested in her new company. She’d been a little worried about letting him put his personal money into the business, but he’d been adamant. She had to admit, having her shop fifty feet from the house was a heck of a lot more convenient than using some rented space on the far side of Dallas.
She unlocked the door to her shop and was immediately hit with the mouth-watering aroma of freshly baked goodies. The shop had only been up and running for about six weeks, but Jax, Dane, and the other firefighters at Station 58 had gotten the word out about her new business, and she was already starting to have a hard time keeping up with all the orders coming in. The wedding and catering jobs were the backbone of her current workload—just like her business model had suggested—but she’d also recently signed contracts to provide cupcakes, bagels, and other baked goods to several conference centers in town. Their steady demand was only going to grow as word spread. She’d probably need to hire a delivery person and a baking assistant just to keep up. That was a good problem to have, though.
