by Taylor Lee
A massive shiver zinged through her. The smoky taste of his cigarette, the tang of bourbon mingled with his scent. She smelled the whisper of sandalwood, a fresh piney odor, and that musky male smell that made her want more, so much more,
He reached under her hair. His big hand clasped the nape of her neck and pulled her up closer to him, holding her in place. Just where he wanted her, where she wanted to be. His tongue was a sensual weapon. He licked her teeth then pried them open. His tongue tangled with hers driving deeper and deeper. A soft male growl vibrated between their lips and Ana felt something inside of her give way. A dam broke. Sensation after sensation swamped her. She wanted to kiss him, probe him the way he was doing to her. She dug her fingers in the curls at his neck and pulled him to her, deeper, harder.
She was shocked when she realized that the whispery moans, the frantic gasps mimicking his were coming from her.
“Jesus, Ana,” he groaned and bent her back over his arm. Her head fell back opening her throat to his lips. He dragged his rough tongue over the tender skin pausing to lick the throbbing pulse at the base of her throat and the sensitive skin that surrounded it. Her groin clenched and she thought she might faint if she couldn’t catch a deeper breath. And then his wicked mouth was nipping at the lush mounds of her breasts. They swelled at his touch. He bit the tender skin and sucked on it. Every touch, every suck, every bite smashed through one barrier after another. She didn’t recognize the sounds coming from her, the pleas, the sobs. When his expert fingers slipped inside the silky fabric of her gown and sought the throbbing nub of her nipple, she cried out. But he was merciless. First his fingers twisted, tugged one sensitive nub then the other. When she couldn’t bear another sensation, he licked her nipple then sucked on it, hard. She didn’t recognize the wail that broke from her throat. It was needy, sensual, a cry as old as the Earth.
His hands were insistent; his powerful body relentless. He pressed her up against the railing, forcing her legs apart with his strong thighs. The rough weave of his trousers scraped against the bare flesh above her stockings. Wool rubbing against silk created a friction that only intensified the sensations. His voice was low, guttural, commanding. He drove his bulging erection up against the damp silk protecting her tender folds. “Open to me, Ana. I need you. God, baby. I need you now.”
Wave after wave of sensation pulled her higher and higher, the current dragging her to a place she’d never been. Just when she thought she would drown with need, Gabe pulled back at the intrusive sound of a voice. He still held Ana — but more like a shield than a driving force. He slowly stood wrapping her protectively in the shelter of his strong arms.
Through the roar of sensation coursing through her ears, Ana heard Kai’s embarrassed voice trail off. “Uh, Gabe… Ana… I… you….”
Gabe’s voice was low, ironic, thick with frustration. He murmured, “I want you to know Kai, I have killed men with my bare hands for less.”
Gunnar broke in, his voice devoid of its usual overlay of humor. “I’m sorry, man. Don’t blame the kid. You gotta come now. It’s Chao. He’s been hurt. Bad.”
Chapter 23
Ana’s face was frozen with fear, but to her credit her voice was calm, comforting, belying the terror that Gabe saw in her eyes. Chao’s face was covered with bruises and cuts, the signs of a vicious beating. Both of his eyes were swollen shut and there was a thin purplish ring circling his neck indicating whoever had attacked him had used a garrote or rope — Gabe assumed to strangle him. His left arm was bandaged and splinted.
Madam Ling nodded when Gabe asked, “Broken?”
Her response was cryptic. “In three places.”
Even in his semi-conscious state, Chao’s soft moans testified to his driving pain. Madam Ling and three of her assistants were tending his wounds, applying salves and herbal poultices to the open cuts. When Gabe pulled back the sheet to see for himself the extent of his wounds, his breath caught at the sight of the massive bruises covering Chao’s chest and abdomen. Ana’s gasp confirmed that she understood the extent of his injuries.
Gabe probed the swollen places around his ribs and met Madam Ling’s gaze.
“We are waiting for the laudanum and opiates to take effect before we attempt to reset them.” She added, her voice tight with strain, “At least two, maybe three or four are cracked.”
For Ana and Kai’s sake, Gabe kept a tight rein on the fury coursing through him. Motioning to the horrified valet, Quitin, Chao’s long time manservant, Gabe caught his arm and pulled him away from the group.
“I need you to step up here, Quitin. Do you understand me?”
The diminutive man brushed the tears off his face and nodded, as Gabe continued. “Get a comfortable chair for Miss Ana and for Mr. Kai. I know they will insist on staying by him tonight. When she is ready, Miss Ana will need to change her clothes. Send her personal maid, here. Jing, correct? Have Jing bring Miss Ana a robe and change of clothes.”
As difficult as it was to hear, the fact that Chao was moaning, reacting to the healers’ ministrations, was a good sign. The critical issue was to tend to his wounds and not let him die. Gabe knew from long experience dealing with badly injured men, the first hours were critical. The Chinese doctors surrounding Chao’s bed were accomplished healers. If anyone could keep their master alive it was them. Most critical to recovery was Chao himself. His will to live, to fight through the agonizing pain, would very likely be the determining factor.
Gabe crouched down beside Ana. Her face was ghost-like. Her dark eyes were huge, black with fear. He looked up and motioned to Kai to come stand beside them.
Looking from one to the other, Gabe assessed their ability to comprehend what he was about to tell them. As concerned as they were, he was gratified to see an inner strength in them both.
He took Ana’s hands in his forcing her to meet his gaze.
“Ana, honey. And you too, Kai. Listen to me. Your father is going to live. I am convinced of that. He is a strong man, physically, but most important spiritually. Do you understand?”
Ana stared at him, her face contorted with fear. She started to speak, then bit her lips as if afraid to ask the question. Gabe gave her a reassuring nod, urging her to continue.
“Promise me, Gabe? Do you promise me that he will live?”
Gabe swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah, Princess, I do promise. As bad as his injuries are, he is breathing well, which means that even though his ribs are cracked, none of them punctured his lung, always the most life threatening injury in a beating like this. But tonight is critical. By tomorrow, we will see a big difference. But these next couple of days are going to be difficult. He’s going to hurt like hell.”
He stood when he saw Jing enter clinging to Quitin. The older woman’s eyes widened with shock at the sight of their master, but then riveted on Ana. Gabe motioned to Jing to come over to them.
Gabe pulled Ana to her feet and put his arm around her.
“Princess, I asked Jing to come and bring you some comfortable clothes. You need to change out of that dress. And especially those damn shoes.” he said at an attempt at humor. He was gratified to see a scintilla of a smile cut through the pain in her eyes for a brief second.
He turned to Jing. “Jing, please take Ana to Chao’s changing room. See that she puts on these clothes you brought for her.”
When Ana shook her head and frowned, Gabe held her tighter to him and lifted her chin so she couldn’t look away.
“Listen to me, Princess. It is going to be a long night. Quitin is bringing comfortable chairs and blankets, for you and Kai. Right now you need to get out of those clothes. The doctors need to finish bandaging up your father. The best way you can help him — both of you — is to stay strong, and stay close. Do you understand? Okay, both of you, go get changed. By the time you get back, the doctors will have finished taping Chao’s ribs, and given the opiates they are pumping into him, he’ll be in a lot less pain.”
Gabe waited until the two o
f them reluctantly left the room, then he strode over to the small cluster of men standing in the far corner. Gunnar and Eagle were waiting for him, along with their companions, Emil and Davy.
Piercing all four men with a hard stare, Gabe demanded, “All right, goddammit. Let’s hear it. What the hell happened? We had ten men here tonight to ensure that no one hurt Chao, Kai or Ana.” With a hard jerk of his head toward the bed, he spat out, “Obviously we failed. We’ll deal with that later. Right now I want to know who tried to kill Chao.”
~~~
On their rush from the balcony to Chao’s chambers, Gunnar and Kai had given Gabe and Ana the barest of details. Now Gabe needed to hear precisely what happened.
Davy stepped forward. Except for Gunnar and Eagle, Davy had been with Gabe the longest of any of his men. He was as tall as Gabe and outweighed him by at least forty pounds. Anyone who tussled with him knew it wasn’t fat that broadened the big man’s shoulders and arms. His sharp green eyes helped give some credibility to his round face, rosy cheeks and the corn silk hair that fell in soft waves around his face. Gabe thought to himself as he always did when talking with Davy: How the hell could a guy with a baby face like Davy’s and a name like Davy, for Christ’s sake, be the strongest guy on their team not counting himself, Gunnar and Eagle.
Davy’s voice was harsh, strained. “I take responsibility, Gabe.”
Gabe dismissed his apology with a wave of his hand. “I know you do, we all do. It’s on my shoulders as much as yours. Tell me what happened.”
Davy gave a distressed nod. “I was on Chao like white on rice the whole fucking night. Both me and Emil. About ten o’clock, I saw Chao leaving the ballroom heading down the hallway. I called after him asking him to wait for me but he shook his head, said he needed to get something from his office. I asked him what he needed, told him I could get it for him. But he said no. We followed him to his office. He looked kinda strained. I saw a folded piece of paper in his hand. I asked if I could see it. He brushed me aside. He said you needed to talk with him. He closed the door in our faces. When I heard the door lock, it was pretty clear that he wanted to be alone.”
Davy shoved his hands through his soft silky hair and looked up at Gabe, a deep frown creasing his brow.
“I swear to God, Gabe. Me and Emil were there for ten minutes at the most before I started getting worried. I called out to him and there was no answer. Hell, that silence skewered me bollocks. Me and Emil just looked at each other and crashed through the door. Broke the fucker clear off the frame.”
He looked down, pain crossing his face.
“Damn, Gabe, we never shoulda let him go in there by himself.”
Once again, Gabe waved off his self-recriminations. “Then what happened?”
Davy’s eyes were wide. “He wasn’t there. The goddamned place was empty. Just the doors to the patio were wide open. There weren’t no signs of a struggle. For a crazy minute I thought he’d needed to get air or something. Then I smelled that chloroform smell. You know what I mean. I found this on the floor.” He handed Gabe a shredded rag that still smelled of the drug. Davy continued. “I knowed then that he been taken. Somebody had drugged him.”
Letting out a long sigh as if he still couldn’t believe what had happened, Davy’s eyes clouded, focused on the memory.
“I raced out to follow them, but, hell, I had no idea where they went. Emil here ran to the barn to get our horses and grab some of the other men. When I started after Emil, I thought I saw another piece of this rag crap on the ground over by the path next to the woods. Sure enough when I got close, I could smell it. I knew they couldn’t have ridden their horses in there without some of our men noticing. I gotta tell you, Gabe, I wasn’t thinking clear… but something drew me to them woods. I just took off running, even though I had no idea where I was goin’. I was in some deep brush when I heard horses. They was heading away, fast. I didn’t see nuthin’, just heard them galloping away. I started to run back to the barn when I heard this moaning-like sound. You know, the kind a rabbit or a fox makes when he’s caught in one of them steel traps? I pushed through them bushes, tryin’ to follow the sound. And… and then I saw him.”
Davy shook his head and his mouth twisted as if remembering the sight. “Damn, he was stark naked. Blood was comin’ from everywhere.”
Davy stopped and ran his fingers through his hair again. “His face looked almost black and his eyes were bulgy. Then I seed that tie around his neck. Jesus, Gabe, they’d tied him to the tree with rawhide. Four or five strips all knotted tight around his neck. I don’t think he had more than a minute or two of breath left when I got to him. I… I cut him loose and then started yellin’ like a banshee for the other men to come and help me.”
Gabe stared at him for a long moment, then looked over to Chao lying in the bed. The doctors had finished working on him and whatever they gave him had taken effect. He looked almost peaceful, but alive.
Gabe shook his head. His voice was low, awed. “Damn, Davy. You saved his life.”
Davy put up his hands in protest. “No, Gabe, it was my fault. I never should have let him go in that office—”
“Look, Davy, there were a lot of screw ups on all our parts tonight. But it comes down to this. If you hadn’t had your wits about you, and if some goddamned angel hadn’t decided that Chao had more time to spend on this Earth, there’s no way you would have tracked him the way you did. Or found him minutes from death. No, Davy, whatever else went wrong, you saved Chao’s life.”
Davy’s face bloomed, his usual rosy cheeks flamed bright red. Gabe was sure he saw tears in the big man’s eyes.
Davy muttered. “Yeah, you’re right. I got to him, didn’t I?”
Gabe clapped an arm around him and pulled him close.
“In the end, man, that’s what matters.”
From behind him, Gunnar gave a discreet cough. When Gabe turned to meet his gaze, Gunnar’s expression was stern, his lips pressed in a hard line. The customary twinkle in the Swede’s eyes was long gone.
“Davy found something else, Gabe. This was nailed to the tree above Chao’s head.”
He reached into his pocket and handed Gabe a folded sheet of paper that looked like the other notes, only larger.
Gabe spread it open. The crude drawings didn’t leave anything to the imagination. An ugly cartoonish rendition showed Chao tied to a tree, his tongue hanging out, clearly dead. There was a black X across his face. Next to him, Kai was hanging from a tree, his hands tied behind his back. His eyes were wide open and he looked terrified. The numeral two was over his head. In the lower corner was a cartoonish drawing of Ana cowering on the ground, her eyes wide with terror. She was surrounded by men, all with their faces hidden. The number three was over her head. Gabe took deep breaths to keep the gorge welling up in his throat from spewing. It took him a full minute to clear the haze in his eyes.
A fourth figure, stripped to the waist, was tied to a rack, his hands stretched high above his head. A crowd of angry looking men surrounded him. Two men wearing executioner hoods had bull whips at the ready. The figure they were getting ready to beat to death was Gabe.
Chapter 24
“Looks like there are four targets, Gabe. Not only are they after Chao, Kai and Ana, they’re also after you.”
Gabe nodded at Gunnar. “It would appear so.”
Gabe ran his hands through his hair. He wasn’t surprised. Of course they were after him. He was standing in their way. What bothered him most was the explicit sexual reference to Ana. He closed his eyes to shut out the images the ugly drawing inspired.
He looked up to see Eagle and Gunnar staring at him, worried frowns darkening their faces. Emil and Davy looked as concerned.
“Look, men, of course the fuckers are after me. I’m in their way. Hell, you four are in as much danger as I am. But we can take care of ourselves.” He jerked his head over to the bed where Chao was sleeping, his face and body covered with bandages and visible injuries. “Chao can
’t take care of himself. Kai can’t. And goddammit, Ana sure as hell can’t.” He grimaced, then pointed to the solarium off to the side of the master chambers. “Let’s go in there where we can talk. I don’t want Chao to overhear us. And Kai and Ana will be back any minute.”
He nodded to the liquor cabinet and said with an effort at a grin. “I happen to know that Chao keeps a supply of Jameson on the second shelf. Emil, round up five glasses and at least a couple of bottles of that smooth-talking whisky. I have a feeling we’re gonna need it tonight.”
Gabe waited until they had settled in with whisky, and the cigars that Gunnar swiped out of Chao’s humidor on the way into the solarium.
He eyed them all, knowing they were as concerned as he was.
“Okay, here’s where we are, and here’s what we gonna do. First. We’re gonna protect this goddamn family if it kills us. Davy, your job is Ana. I want you to grab four of your best men. Call in anyone you need to. There isn’t a job our Avengers are doing that is more important than this. But, I’m warning you. She is the most stubborn damn woman I’ve ever known. Impossible to control!”
He glanced up in time to see all of his men exchanging knowing looks. Emil and Gunnar were smiling outright.
Davy reddened, and he glanced down at his shoes. When he looked up, Gabe saw the tears in his eyes that he’d seen before. He waited for the young man to get his emotions in check. He had a feeling he knew what Davy would say.
“Uh… uh, damn, Gabe. I just gotta thank you. I know how important Ana is, and hell, after I just about got her father killed—”
Gabe held up his hand. “That’s the last I want to hear of that, Davy. We’re done with what we should have done. Goddammit man, you’re a hero. You saved one of the most important men in my life, and I will always be grateful. And yeah, now I’m putting Ana’s life in your hands. If that doesn’t tell you how grateful I am, nothing will. You got that?”
