by james
“What the hell was that?” John asked.
“Interior lights. We can’t sit here. You know that.”
Bastard was playing with them. Just waiting.
“Rifle shots. How many do you think?” Rori asked.
“Ian!” John yelled.
Fuck. “Where the hell are our guards? I’ve got to get Darya and Rori out of here!”
John was barking something in the background. “I’ve called Pete. I don’t know
what the bloody hell--thanks Aiden.”
“I told you to get them home.”
“I will.”
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 134
Damn it.
More shots ripped across the hood. Darya screamed.
“On three, I’m opening the door and we’re going to try for the house,” he said.
“All right.”
“One. You’ve got my goggles?”
“Yeah, and the rest of the bag with the ammo.”
“Good. Toss it here and get her.”
She slid the bag to him. He slung it over his arm. “Two.”
He took a deep breath.
“Three.” They both said and shoved their doors open, scrambling out of the car.
The lighted windows from the house slashed across the lawn.
Ian grabbed Rori’s hand and ran. He felt her jerk, slip from his grasp.
He whirled to make certain they were both behind him.
The world exploded.
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 135
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
7:39 p.m.
Fire trunks and ambulances littered the driveway of the Kinncaid home in Seneca
Maryland.
Ian paced inside.
He remembered the explosion, but more, the gut wrenching fear that he’d failed
them.
Rori sat on the sofa holding Darya. As he walked to them one of the cops asked
him another question.
“Why do you have body guards, Mr. Kinncaid?” one of the detectives asked.
He ignored the question as he had the others. He’d evaded answering the
policeman’s questions and the paramedics, the fire chief.
Until Pete Jones walked in, let that bastard clean up the mess.
Pain slashed ruthlessly through his head. Darya’s hand sported a bandage, as did
Rori’s back where a flying piece of metal scraped her. The paramedics wanted to take
them all the local hospital.
He wasn’t that fucking stupid. They all declined medical attention.
The windows nearest the wreckage on the east lawn were gone. Luckily no one
was in those rooms.
Everyone was now here, in the living room. Jesslyn clutched the toddler twins to
her as if she let them go something would happen.
He knew the feeling. He reached down and picked Darya up, closing his eyes as
her arms came around him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear. God those moments. He took a deep breath
and gently set her back beside Rori.
The woman had to be in pain, he could see it in her eyes, but she refused to go
upstairs. Not that he could blame her. He cupped her face and ran his thumb over her
cheek. “You should be upstairs in the shower or lying down.”
She snorted and grinned at him. “I’ve had worse. Besides, we both know this is
going to be a bloody long night.”
Too true.
Three of his men were out in the woods--Tanner, Roth and John--and the locals
were not at all happy about that. Snake should be arriving with Gavin any minute.
What if the bastards had gone for the house? He looked again at Darya who no
longer had her bear. He’d have to get her another one. She picked on the blanket Rori
tossed around her small shoulders. Her blue eyes met his.
God, what if….
Shaking off the thought, he turned and paced back to the window.
Everyone talked in hushed whispers.
The night rotated. Red. Blue. White. Red. Blue. White.
Where the hell was the bastard?
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 136
The woods beyond were dark, as they had been after arriving. He knew his three
men wore night vision goggles and were scouring the area for any sign of whoever it was
that wanted them gone.
He looked over his shoulder and for a moment, his eyes met his father’s, but then
he moved on and zeroed in on Pete.
* * * *
Jock looked across the living room. Kaitlyn was talking to Taylor, who looked
ready to pop. Pregnant women didn’t need this kind of excitement. Ryan stood beside her,
more quiet than normal, his other hand holding Tori’s. Those two were practically
inseparable.
Both Brayden and Gavin had called, pissed because the road was blocked, but…
He looked into the entryway where policemen gathered and talked to the men in
suits who were quickly filing past.
Brayden, holding Christian’s hand and Gavin both shoved through the crowd,
scanning the living room until they found who they wanted.
Jock knew he’d have that frantic look in his eyes as well if he’d been told
something happened but had no idea what.
He hated, hated things like this. This was his home, and he still had not a fucking
clue what the hell was going on.
They’d been in the back family room when an explosion had rocked the house,
breaking glass.
When they’d hurried into the front entry way, it was to see Ian and his family
scattered on the lawn, a car on fire, and men with guns firing into the trees and hurrying
to them.For a moment, his heart froze in his chest. That fear that there lay one of his
children dead….
He took a deep breath and rubbed his chest. He never wanted to see that again.
Kaitlyn had come up behind him and then flown out the door, but their guard
Tanner and Roth had jerked them back, not letting either him or his wife leave.
Tanner, brave lad, had picked Kaitlyn up and hurriedly got them both into the
bathroom near the bottom of the stairs.
Tanner had stayed with them and Roth had run back out front, barking into some
sort of radio device, a gun in his hand.
Up until that point, Jock had thought it was all on the dramatic side. Ian pulling
some prank or stunt like he had as a boy.
But this….
He shook his head and watched his son. Arms crossed over his chest, he watched
a man who stood talking to one of the policemen.
There was no boy before him, in the man who stood at the window glaring across
the way at a man with salt and peppered hair.
If Jock Kinncaid had met this Ian Kinncaid on the street, he would never have
recognized him.
He wore more black clothing, a gun strapped in a holster crossing his back and
shoulders and hugging his muscled frame. His features were chiseled and hard,
unforgiving. And those blue eyes held no laughter, no mischievousness that Jock had
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 137
always thought of through the years when thinking of Ian.
God, he’d made a mess of things.
What the hell had he pushed his son to? What had Ian become?
Would things have been different if only he had swallowed his misguided notions
all those years ago?
He took another deep breath, pushed away from the wall, met Aiden’s stare as the
newcomer walked into the room and only said to Ian, “We need to talk.”
“You’ve got that fucking right, Pete.” A
radio buzzed on Snake, who answered it.
But they all heard. The woods were clear.
Whoever had caused all the hell tonight, was no longer here.
* * * *
Ian followed Pete out of the room, ignoring everyone but the one man he wanted
answers from. He led Pete down to what was his father’s office and saw that it still was.
The smell was the same and memories wanted to flood him.
He didn’t let them. He waited until Pete came in and then he slammed the door.
“Look, I know you’re upset --”
“Upset?” he asked softly, shaking his head. “No, Pete, I’m not upset.” He didn’t
move, tried to go past the pain in his head. “I’m past upset. I’m fucking pissed.”
“I know --”
“No, you don’t know,” he hissed. “You have no friggin’ clue, but you better by
God get one.” He walked behind his father’s desk and stared at Pete. “You knew of my
plans, my men knew of my plans and my family.”
Pete’s hazel eyes watched him, sharpening. He sank down into one of the chairs
facing the desk and steepled his fingers, his elbows resting on the arms of the chair.
Ian waited.
Pete waited.
Fuck it. He turned and looked out the window.
For a moment, neither said anything.
Then, Pete’s voice asked, “Are you done?”
Ian rubbed the back of his neck, wishing the headache away. Headaches were bad
and whether this was a warning that he needed a break or from tonight, he didn’t know,
didn’t want to even guess.
“You need to come in for a physical tomorrow.” Pete sighed. “I’ve got people
working on this, I’ve increased the number of guards and I want--”
“I want my family safe,” Ian said.
“Yes. That’s a given.”
Ian waited but Pete didn’t say anything else. Finally, he turned and faced his boss.
“You look like shit,” Pete said.
He grunted, walked around the desk and sat in the other chair, leaning his head
back. Closing his eyes, he asked, “Is it you Pete? Have I become expendable?”
He waited, didn’t open his eyes.
“I should be insulted, but I’m not.” Pete cleared his throat and Ian heard his
clothing shift as he moved in the chair. “I would come to the same conclusion if I were
you. And without a doubt, the leak is in my office. We just have to find it.”
No kidding.
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 138
“What do you want to do?” Pete asked him.
Ian opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, still white, same wooden trim around
the top as it had always been.
“Don’t have a clue.” God he was so fucking tired. A log popped in the grate.
Neither spoke again.
Pete broke the silence. “You know, the local authorities are now going to be
watching your family as well. I haven’t figured out if this was a good thing or a bad
thing.”
“Local authorities knowing of our presence is never good.”
Pete chuckled. “True.”
“But the extra eyes will be a plus.” Ian wondered if he could just pack up his
family and move them else where.
“I thought about just putting your entire family under protection and moving them
to a secure location,” Pete commented, standing. “But, considering, I don’t know that it
would do any good.”
Ian thought about the firestorm that would cause. “Probably wouldn’t do any good
anyway. I don’t know that any of them… Well, my brothers might, with their wives.” His
hand fisted. “My life, our lives are so fucked up compared to everyone else’s Pete. Ever
thought of that?”
Pete cocked a brow at him. “I’ve always thought that everyone else simply lives in
blissful ignorance.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
Pete tilted his head. “You know, I honestly thought I could talk you into staying
with us, give you time and another assignment. Maybe bring you in out of the field and
into the office.”
Ian was already shaking his head.
“But,” Pete continued, “I can see I was wrong on that score. You really are ready
to call it quits.”
Ian sat up and rubbed a hand over his face. “Is there ever really a thing as ‘quits’
for guys like us?”
“Sure,” Pete smiled, a full fledged one, “when you’re dead.”
“Isn’t that a cheery fucking thought.”
“What are you going to tell your family?”
He shook his head. “Don’t have a clue.”
Pete leaned back. “We’ll run the bullets the boys are getting from around the
scene and see what we come up with.”
Would it be for or against Pete? For or against him? Elianya? One of the other
families that wanted him dead? Whoever the damn mole was.
* * * *
Rori watched all the goings on with a sort of detachment. She was part of this, and
yet not. A feeling she was rather familiar with. Darya was tucked up to her side and she
thought about taking the girl upstairs, but decided to wait to see what Ian wanted to do.
If it were her, she’d remove Darya to a safer place, make certain the girl at least
was out of harm’s way. Then again, knowing Ian, he’d want to make certain everyone
was safe. Two or three people they could hide. A family this large--probably not.
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 139
Mrs. Kinncaid was walking around, asking people if they needed anything--the
perfect host. It fit her. Jesslyn and Aiden were playing with their boys in the hallway just
outside one of the doorways of the living room. Two of the other brothers were with their
wives. She hadn’t seen a sign of Quinlan yet, but figured Gar was with him, or someone.
Had Ian thought of him?
Maybe she should ask Nikko to watch him.
And what the fuck did she really care? Was this her job? No. Was this her family?
No.
So why drag Nikko into the mix if she didn’t have to. Nikko.
She looked at Snake and said, “Let me borrow your phone.”
He unclipped it. “Why?”
“I need to call someone and if I don’t, they’ll start to worry. Since my mobile is in
little melted pieces, be a chap.”
He handed it to her. “Who you calling.”
“Don’t be a nose parker, Snake.” She took the phone, walked to a quiet corner so
she could still keep an eye on Darya who slid off the couch and addled up to her side. She
rang Nikko.
He didn’t answer.
She called again.
Then again.
Finally, he picked up. “Who the hell is this?”
“It’s me.”
His sigh was filled with relief and anger. She could tell. “Where the bloody hell
are you?” He muttered in Italian. “Do you have a clue how long it’s been since you
checked in? You always check in.”
She was tired. “I’m fine. Just busy.”
“You quit.”
“Not exactly,” she said, and scanned the room. Snake still watched her, his thin
black brow cocked.
“What does that mean?”
She sighed. “It means I’m doing a new gig now and things have become
complicated. I’ll ring you back later. I just wanted you to know things are fine.”
“When you take the time to let me know
things are fine, they rarely are, cara.
What is going on?”
She sighed. “I can’t get into it now. Just know I’m fine.” She looked around this
group of people Ian cared so much about, saw the worry on all their faces. “Nikko, have I
ever told you thank you?”
“For what?”
She grinned. “Nevermind. Take care, luv.” She clicked the phone shut, and
returned it to Snake. Picking Darya up, they sat back on the sofa.
Jock rubbed his chest again and walked towards her. He sat down on the other
side of Darya.
“All right?” she asked him.
He nodded. No smile, no grimace, just a nod.
“I see where your son gets it.”
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 140
He frowned. “Gets what?”
The man was worried, she could see it in his eyes, in the etched lines of his face.
“Ian’s attitude and inflexibility.”
“I’m not inflexible,” he scoffed.
She merely raised a brow. He lifted his hand to place on Darya’s head, but faster
than a blink, she scurried into Rori’s lap, her thumb firmly in her mouth.
His frown deepened.
“Is she okay?” he asked.
“Do you honestly care?” Rori returned, leaning down to kiss Darya’s forehead.
The bear was no where to be found and it had become a security blanket.
“She’s missing her bear,” he mumbled.
Rori tried to hide her grin.
“I bet we can find another,” he added, hefting his weight up and walking from the
room. She watched him go and wondered where he was off to.
Kaitlyn joined her and took her husband’s seat. “Has she said anything?”
Rori shook her head and Kaitlyn studied her.
“What?” Rori asked. Too damn many people around for her piece of mind.
Kaitlyn took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I just thought.…” She closed her
mouth, looked down and picked a non-existent piece of lint off her pants. “When we got
to the window. You and she were closer to us, Ian a bit away…. And just for a moment, I
thought…”
Damn.
Rori reached out and covered her hands. “Your son saved our lives.”
Kaitlyn nodded and shoved a coppery curl behind her ear. She shook her head.
“There’s so much I want to ask him, so much I’ve missed, so much I want to know and
earlier, none of that mattered. I just wanted him alive and you alive. I thought I’d kill that
