Sins and Scarlet Lace

by Liliana Hart

  Dec let the words roll off of him and kept his fury banked, even though the anger boiled deep inside him.

  “I don’t know what you ever saw in her. She sure as hell wasn’t a good fuck, but maybe my men will think differently once I’ve put a bullet in your brain.” His boot connected with Sophia’s back and a whimper of pain escaped even as she tried to make herself invisible.

  “Why don’t you put away your own gun, Kane? Or are you afraid to face me man to man once and for all and see who really is best?”

  “You hear that, Sophia? Declan wants to fight me man to man. It seems like the least I should do considering he’s been fucking my wife. What the hell, I’m game.” He tossed down his weapon, but Declan made it a point to always know his enemy better than he knew himself. Kane had at least three more weapons hidden somewhere on his body.

  “Sophia,” Dec called out. “I know you hurt, baby. But I need you to come here.”

  “You’re an entertaining man, Dec.” Kane stood with his hands on his hips and a cocky smile on his lips. “I’ve always thought that about you. Yeah, Sophia. Walk back into the arms of the man who is only keeping you around for the half-a-billion dollars he wants to get his hands on. Can you really be that stupid? How many times has this man betrayed you over the years, yet you always roll over and spread your legs. You must have a magical cock, my friend,” Kane sneered. “Of course, I’ve heard dozens of women over the years say it was true.”

  “Sophia,” he said again. “Come here.”

  Sophia raised her head and looked at him out of shattered eyes. Kane had played with her mind for years, and he knew that training was hard to overcome, but he also hoped she’d realized by now that he would rather die than ever hurt her again. It would be her choice whether she trusted him enough to take what he offered, but even if she didn’t he wanted her out of the way.

  She pushed herself up off the ground until she stood shakily to her feet. And then she took a step toward him. And then another. Relief at her ability to trust him after everything they’d been through sank into his bones, and he realized how undeserving he was of this woman’s love, but he was grateful just the same.

  “This is all very sweet,” Kane said. “I think it’s going to be very damaging for her to watch me kill you. It’s all very exciting.”

  They both ignored Kane as she stumbled toward him, though he watched Kane closely and kept his hand free to go to his extra gun if he saw him making a move.

  “Thank you,” he whispered once she reached him. “Thank you for loving me.”

  “I don’t believe him,” she panted, tears dripping down her cheeks. “My faith is in you, and I wanted you to know that if anything hap—”

  He put his finger over her lips to keep her from saying the words. Kane wouldn’t give them much time. He wasn’t worried about the soldiers Kane had brought with him. Dec would put his men and their experience up against triple the kind of men Kane had brought onto his land.

  “We’re going to be just fine, babe.” He slipped the cell phone he’d been palming into the front pocket of her shorts. “I need you to go to Shane and check on him. Text Thomas and tell him to get here as fast as possible and to arrange for a helicopter to be standing by so we can transport him.”

  She nodded once and wavered on her feet as she moved back. “I’m going to be really pissed if you die. I just thought you should know.” And then she did as he asked and headed towards Shane, kneeling down beside him and taking his limp hand in her own.

  Declan didn’t waste any time. He and Kane ran for each other and met mid-air, bodies clashing in a tangle of limbs and grunts and groans. His knee made contact with Kane’s stomach and the other man let out a grunt of pain even as his fist connected with Declan’s ribs. Kane outweighed him by several pounds, so their momentum sent Dec crashing backward toward the ground. His back scraped across rock and gravel, and he air left his lungs as Kane’s full weight landed on top of him. They rolled several times, taking turns dealing blow after blow.

  Adrenaline pumped high and Dec felt satisfaction as his palm came up and slammed into Kane’s face, breaking his nose with a crunch of cartilage and bone. Grunts and muttered curses filled the air as they fought viciously, each one knowing death would come to the loser.

  They rolled again and Declan ended up on his back with Kane’s weight pinning him down. The prick of a knife against his throat had him stilling and looking into the eyes of a man he’d once called friend. Blood dripped down Kane’s face, the steady plop landing on Declan’s chin and running down his neck. Their chests heaved as they both sucked in air and not even the wind dared to move the tree limbs as they waited to see what would happen.

  “You forgot one thing, brother,” Kane spat, the knife cutting into the skin of Declan’s neck.

  “What’s that?” Declan said, ignoring Sophia’s quiet sobs in the background.

  “I like to cheat.”

  His smile froze in place as Declan put a knife in his back, slipping up between the ribs to pierce his black heart.

  “I remember,” Dec said, pushing Kane off of him and rolling to his knees to suck in a deep breath. “Second best, Kane. Just like always.”

  Hatred filled Kane’s eyes as they clouded over with death, but Declan was already on his feet and headed to Sophia. She stumbled toward him and he caught her in his arms, wrapping his arms around her gently.

  “You scared the hell out of me,” she said, wiping the tears off her face. “I’ve never felt so useless in my life. Don’t you ever do that again, Declan MacKenzie. If my head didn’t hurt so bad I’d punch you in the face.” A sob tore from her throat and she turned on unsteady legs to go back to Shane. He helped her before she fell on her face.

  “Sit down, babe.”

  “I don’t know what else to do for him,” she whispered. “He’s in shock. God, there’s so much blood.”

  Dec noticed for the first time that she sat there in only her bra. She’d used her shirt as a tourniquet just below Shane’s knee. He whipped off his own shirt and handed it to her while he looked over the rest of his brother’s injuries, and he jumped as Shane’s hand came up and gripped his arm. Hard.

  “It’s bad,” Shane said. His teeth chattered, and tears ran unchecked from the corners of his eyes. Sophia had been right, shock had settled and it didn’t look good. Fear clawed at Dec’s insides. He’d seen too many men who looked as Shane did now just before they died from their wounds.

  Dec kept his face emotionless and his voice firm. “You’re all good, Shane. It’s just a scratch or two. You’re going to be just fine.”

  “Liar,” he said, his breath hitching as pain wracked through his body. “Don’t let—” he licked his lips before trying to get the words out again. “Don’t let them take my legs. I’d rather die.” His fingers pressed so hard into Dec’s arms he knew there’d be bruises. “I mean it, Dec. Don’t let them take them. They’ll relieve me of my command. I’m not meant—not meant to sit at a desk.”

  Declan took hold of Shane’s hand and squeezed it hard. “Save your breath. The cavalry is almost here.” The familiar sounds of a helicopter flying low and nearby had Declan looking up just as Thomas came running with his bag, his cousins and brothers close behind him.

  Thomas knelt down beside them and Sophia scooted back out of the way. The other MacKenzies gathered around, talking in low voices, and she noticed Cade and Cooper were barking out orders into headsets to the men they still had out rounding up Kane’s mercenaries.

  Thomas was already busy running an IV and getting things set up so Shane could get a transfusion once he was airborne, but Shane’s next words stopped everyone cold and silence descended in the small clearing.

  “Can’t feel anything now,” Shane said, smiling softly. “I’m glad you finally got the girl, Dec. You deserve it.” And then Shane closed his eyes.

  Declan bowed his head over his brother and let the tears fall unchecked.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

/>   The waiting seemed endless.

  Sophia remembered what it was like to sit in a waiting room full of MacKenzies. The way they leaned on each other and told stories of the past to fill the time. They included her just as they had the last time, but this time she had Declan sitting healthy in the seat next to her, so the time didn’t go by in an invisible blur as it had once before.

  “He’ll be just fine,” Declan’s mother said for what was probably the thousandth time. “My boys have too much fight in them and are too stubborn to do anything but kick death in the teeth.” Her voice wavered and her husband pulled her in close for a hug.

  Mary MacKenzie didn’t shed tears easily, but Sophia could tell she was close to the breaking point. She’d been holding on by a thread for almost twenty-four hours. Thomas came out occasionally with updates, but all he could say was they were doing their best to stabilize him. The last update had been six hours ago.

  “She said the same thing when it was you,” Sophia told Dec quietly. “She’s a remarkable woman. I can see why her sons are as just as amazing.”

  She and Declan occupied a corner bench, sitting slightly away from the rest of the family. Thomas had insisted she be checked out as well, so her head was bandaged and all of her cuts bandaged. Her head still throbbed, but they’d given her something for the pain so it was bearable, and Thomas had loaned her a pair of blue surgical scrubs since her clothes had been ruined.

  “This hell is what you went through when it was me in the operating room,” Dec said. “I knew you were waiting for me. I could hear you in my mind telling me it would all be okay. And I believed you because you never lied to me.” He rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. “I love you, Sophia. I’m not sure I can ever tell you enough.”

  He took her hand and squeezed it once.

  “I love you, too. I’m glad we got a second chance to do it right this time.”

  The waiting room door opened and Thomas stepped inside. He wasn’t the surgeon who’d worked on Shane, but they’d let him stay and observe. The look on his face had Declan rising to his feet and pulling Sophia up with him. The waiting room went quiet as they waited to hear what he had to say.

  “The good news is he’s finally stable and they’ve replaced the blood loss. He’s in critical condition, but the doctor thinks he’s going to be okay. And if he doesn’t have any problems through the night he can downgrade it to serious.”

  “Oh, thank God,” Mary said, throwing her arms around her husband and squeezing him tight. Declan’s dad had silver hair, but Sophia could see where Declan had gotten his looks from. James MacKenzie was a strong man, as tall and broad-shouldered as his sons, but you could see the weight of relief being lifted as he enfolded his wife in a hug and let her cry against his chest.

  “What’s the bad news?” Cade asked. He stood next to his parents and had his arm around his wife, Bayleigh.

  Thomas sighed and looked straight at Declan. “They weren’t able to save one of his legs. They had to take it or he wouldn’t have made it.”

  Mary’s sob was muffled against her husband’s chest, and Sophia felt her own tears escape. Declan squeezed her hand so hard it hurt, but she couldn’t let go, not when his pain slammed against her like a tidal wave. Declan had worried over the leg, and he understood his brother’s request to not let them take it because he would have felt the same way. There was no way Shane would ever command his team again or go into the field, and to a man like Shane that might as well be a death sentence.

  Mary pulled from her husband’s grasp and wiped her eyes with the tissue Bayleigh had handed her. “Well, now,” she said stiffening her shoulders. “What’s done is done. He’s alive and that’s all that matters, and we’ll help him deal with the rest as a family. When can we see him?”

  “It’s probably going to be several more hours until they have him set up in a room.”

  “Then I want everyone to go home and get some sleep,” she said, taking charge and shooing her sons and nephews toward the door.

  Sophia put her arms around Declan’s waist and lay her head on his chest, taking comfort in the way he held her back.

  “He’s going to have a hard time,” he whispered against her ear. “He’s the most stubborn of all of us and the most hard-headed. Accepting isn’t going to be easy for him.”

  “No, he just sounds like another MacKenzie I know. But maybe it’ll help him work through it to know that you have a place for him in your company. Something that doesn’t require sitting behind a desk.”

  She felt his smile against her temple and breathed in the solidness of the man she’d love for eternity. “You must be a mind reader. I was just thinking that exactly. You told me before that you needed to think about making your home here with me. Have you come to any conclusions?”

  Sophia pulled back in his arms so she could look in his eyes. “I have, yes. I’ve decided home is wherever you are.”

  “Thank you,” he said simply. “I’ve waited a lot of years for you to become a MacKenzie.”

  “It’s a good name, and I’ve waited a long time to share it with you. Let’s go home.”

  He took her hand and winked at his mother on the way out the door. “It’s about damned time, Declan MacKenzie,” she called out after them. “Now go get some sleep, the both of you. We’re all going to need our strength in the upcoming weeks. And a lot of prayers,” she whispered, taking her husband’s hand. She knew the battle was still ahead of them with Shane, but at least she no longer had to worry about Declan. He’d finally found his happiness, and as a mother, she couldn’t ask for anything more than that.

  “Let’s go home, love,” Jim said, pulling her toward the exit. “It’s time to practice what you preach.”

  “What are we going to do? I don’t even know where to begin to help him ease the pain.”

  “Sometimes you can’t ease the pain, love. But we’re going to help him by loving him and kicking him in the ass when he needs it. It’s what we’ve always done. MacKenzies aren’t quitters, and Shane is no different.”

  They leaned into each other as they left the hospital—a lifetime of love and laughter, children and grandchildren shared between them—knowing the hardest road was the one just in front of them.

  EPILOGUE

  Three Years Later…

  Sophia lay down by the lake, the blanket beneath her cushioned by the thick grass, and her hand resting gently on the growing mound of her stomach.

  So much had changed in the time she’d been married to Declan. She’d once given up hope that she’d ever have a home or a family. Or children. But Declan had given her all of those things and her heart was almost bursting with the gifts she’d been given—and the second chances. God knows they both deserved them after everything they’d been through.

  The baby kicked beneath her hand and she smiled, soothing him with a slow rub as the breeze ruffled the limbs above her.

  “You’ll always have a family, little one. No matter what happens in your life your family will always be here for you and love you.”

  And that was what it was all about, really. The MacKenzies were a family like none she’d ever seen before, but she couldn’t imagine ever belonging anywhere else. Families weathered storms and heartbreak—thoughts of Shane and what he was going through still filled her with sorrow—but families were also there through the good times and the births and weddings and Sunday dinners. It was the love that made a family work. And trusting that love would never falter.

  She heard the squeal of giggles and her heart jumped in her chest at the overwhelming happiness that one sound could bring. Her head turned and she smiled as Declan walked down from the house, their little girl, Grace, up on his shoulders, her blond curls bouncing with every step he took.

  She couldn’t imagine having the capability to hold more love inside of her, and from the way Declan looked at her she knew he felt exactly the same way. Dec stopped beside her and plucked Grace off his shoulders and put her on the
blanket.

  “Hi, mama,” Grace said, her smile showing two shiny teeth. Her eyes drooped despite the attempt to fight sleep.

  “Hi, baby.” She touched her soft curls and held out her arm so Grace could snuggle up beside her. She was out like a light as soon as she lay down.

  “Hi, mama,” Declan said, leaning over to kiss her softly on the lips. His hand rested next to hers on her belly and she felt his smile in his kiss as the baby kicked again. “I hope you don’t mind me saying that I’ve been thinking we should have another picnic soon.”

  “The last time we had a picnic you gave me the baby who is now kicking against my ribs.”

  “Mmm,” he agreed. “It’s a good spot for a picnic. Good memories.” He kissed her again, this time a little deeper, a little longer, and her heart thumped in her chest and her blood pounded by the time he pulled away. “I don’t think I’ve told you how much I love you in the last couple of days.”

  “Maybe not, but you show me over and over again. So thank you for loving me.”

  He grinned and lifted Grace in his arms, careful not to wake her. “Why don’t we go put her in her bed for a nap and you can show me just how grateful you are. I’ll even make sure you have a bed this time.”

  She took his hand and let him help pull her to her feet. “It’s hard to pass up an offer like that.”

  “I’ve told you, babe. MacKenzies know how to treat a woman right.”

  They were both laughing as they walked hand in hand back up the hill. Back home.

  A LETTER TO MY READERS

  The MacKenzies are a family near and dear to my heart. Their unwavering loyalty and dedication to one another amazes me every time I sit down to write a book. Thanks to each of you for taking the journey with me and exploring and celebrating the love of this special family, and I know each of you grieve with me whenever there is heartbreak. Every letter and email you send means the world to me because I know this family touches you the same way it does me.