by Dez Burke
Oh God, Cane, Alexandra thought with a strangled sob. She could just imagine him racing not far behind, hell-bent on rescuing her. Just wishing it was him was already making her feel better, like she had hope. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. He’d promised. She closed her eyes tight and remembered him saying it was going to be alright.
The impacts from the rear kept coming, like a battering ram. Lamar sent off another shot as soon as he got the van steady, which was becoming difficult with every hit from the following car.
They were fishtailing wildly across the road, before Lamar was able to get the van in control. But the next second, Alexandra could hear the other car accelerating hard before pulling alongside and suddenly slammed into Lamar’s side of the van.
Alexandra felt the van veering and then completely spin around. “Dammit!” Lamar swore, losing control of the van and the next thing, they were careening off the road. The last thing Alexandra was aware of was the sensation of the van tumbling down a short slope before slamming to a shuddering halt in a deep ditch.
***
Cane was outside the Audi the second he pulled to a stop just yards from where the van had swerved off the main road. Its back wheels were partly in the air and spinning wildly, but otherwise it was in one piece, the hood buried in the trench.
Cane’s steps quickened as he saw Lamar yank open the driver’s door and step out groggily, his beanie falling off his shaved head. Their eyes met and Cane’s face creased in a snarl. Lamar wiped at the blood seeping from his forehead and bared his teeth, bracing his feet on the pebbly ground as suddenly Cane advanced and with force, shoved Lamar hard against the smashed side of the van.
Lamar roared, grabbing at Cane’s throat with his fists. Using swift, precise chops of his hands, Cane hacked at Lamar’s face, neck and side. Lamar let out a howl but didn’t let go of Cane’s throat, squeezing harder. Cane’s arms wrapped around Lamar’s waist as he used his full strength to drag Lamar off his feet before crashing the man’s back down on the bodywork of the car, making it shake. Lamar was a big, solid motherfucker but Cane had no problem lifting him again and slamming him back down against the van one more time. Lamar grunted as his fingers slipped from Cane’s neck. Throwing back his arm, Cane soon connected his fist with Lamar’s face. He grabbed Lamar’s collar with his free hand and pushed till they were both rolling on the dirt floor, punching and grunting. Blood spewed from Lamar’s nose as Cane continued slamming his fist into Lamar’s grimacing face again and again.
“I told you want would happen if you ever came near her again,” Cane gritted out, before hauling Lamar back to his feet. The woozy Lamar threw in a weak fist from the side but Cane deflected the blow easily. That was when Cane methodically smashed his foot into Lamar’s calf, making the man scream in agony as he crumpled, the sound of breaking bone unmistakable. Lamar painstakingly rolled away groaning and spitting out blood. Cane advanced, his face a mask of dark, terrible fury.
“You sonofabitch!” Lamar howled, suddenly reaching behind him into his waistband before whipping out a gun which he aimed straight at Cane. Cane didn’t stop in his tracks. He saw Lamar pull the trigger and ducked sharply to the side. He felt the searing sensation of lead whipping through his shoulder, making him grunt. Lamar was staring at him wide-eyed, about to shoot again only to hear the ‘click’ sound that spoke volumes. “Fuck!” Lamar cursed shrilly, just as Cane reached him, making a grab for the gun. There was only a brief struggle before Cane had the gun in his hand, wasting no time in smashing the butt against the side of Lamar’s head, knocking him out cold.
Cane was hardly breathing heavy as he flung the gun away as Lamar’s head rolled to the floor. Cane straightened off his knees and headed straight for the back of the van, and only then did his heart begin to pound erratically with fear. He had no way of knowing if that bastard had hurt Alexandra. And what if she got injured from the crash?
His chest tight, he finally tore the van doors open - and there she was. “Oh, baby,” Cane breathed, his chest constricting. She was blinking from the sudden brightness coming in from the open doors, and he climbed into the van, his hands reaching out first for the rags tied around her mouth. His jaw gritted with fury as he saw her breasts were naked. Controlling the wave of utter rage that threatened to engulf him, he wrapped her with the blanket he found in the corner.
“Cane,” she whimpered, licking on her parched lips as she gazed up at him with wide, relieved eyes that tore into his soul.
“You’re okay now,” he said soothingly. “You’re going to be fine.” He embraced her tightly for a few moments, his face buried in her disheveled hair as he inhaled deeply, garnering strength. Holding her this close made him feel sane again, freed him from the murderous urge that made him want to go back to the unconscious Lamar and pummel him to the ground, till he was nothing more than a bloody pulp.
“I’ll find the keys to those shackles and then we can get you out of here, alright?” he said softly, and her trusting, silent nod cracked at his heart even more. He’d found her; that was all that mattered now. She was safe. And beneath the reprieve he felt, was another, underlying emotion that he didn’t need to ask himself its origin or definition. It was enough that it existed, and thrived. It had blossomed to full life when he’d opened the van doors and seen her there, alive and otherwise unhurt.
Nothing could ever describe the feeling that had overcome him then. It was worth almost as much as all the medals or the many successful missions he’d had in the past. Because if anything had happened to Alexandra, if he had been too late…then Cane knew, without a question, that his own life would have been over.
“Cane…you’re hurt!” he heard Alexandra exclaim as he reluctantly pulled away from her. He glanced at his bleeding shoulder, the red spot spreading over his shirt. For the first time, the throbbing pain registered.
“I’ll be okay,” he told her reassuringly, staring down into her face for a few moments before, without thinking, he sealed his lips over hers.
She gasped against his mouth but didn’t protest, her lips molding to his as he kissed her deeply, almost desperately. She strained against her shackles, moaning into his mouth as he cupped her face in both hands. Cane closed his eyes tight and drank in her sweetness until his head reeled. He’d had to taste her or he’d have gone insane. Knowing she’d been inside that van had killed him almost, as he’d relentlessly come after Lamar. And now here she was, her lips soft and eager against his. It was a passionate kiss but it wasn’t sexual, just soul-binding. If he’d had any doubts about his true feelings for her, they were completely gone now.
However, it didn’t make his heart ache any less. Once more, he withdrew, very slowly, his eyes pinned to hers as he brushed his hand over the side of her face. Her other eye was swollen and purpling, and there was dried blood around the tiny cut on her neck. Cane gritted his teeth tightly thinking how she must have suffered at Lamar’s hands. It was all Cane could do to not go back and finish what he’d started and bash the motherfucker’s head in. Instead, he pressed one more kiss, this time on her forehead, and told her once again that she was safe.
Chapter Twelve
I’m safe.
Alexandra hugged her arms around her and turned away from the windows of her father’s study. It seemed almost impossible to believe that over two months ago, she’d been abducted by her crazy ex-boyfriend who’d wanted to hold her for ransom. He was preparing to face life behind bars but that was the least of Alexandra’s concerns.
She heard her father quickly end his call before rising from his chair and walking up to her. Alexandra tried not to think it was like déjà vu. Merely over two months ago, she’d been called to this very study to receive the announcement that her father had hired her a personal bodyguard.
It felt like a lifetime ago now.
Everything had been a blur after the van doors had opened and Cane had been standing there. She remembered being covered by a blanket, and Cane holding her tight
and kissing her, whispering that she was safe. Much later there had been the paramedics and the cops and the statements. But she’d been in too much shock to be of much use to anyone. Once it was decided that she had only a few bruises and cuts, she was seen to and then allowed to go home. Cane had never been far from her side, she remembered that much as well. There’d been a kind of sling on his arm from his shoulder, which she later learnt had been grazed by a bullet. Her relief in knowing that he’d escaped any real danger almost surpassed her own happiness that she was safe. He followed her in back of the police car, his hand tightly wound around hers. She noticed they were headed for her father’s house, and when she turned to him in surprise Cane explained quietly, “Your father was notified about the attempted kidnap and he was worried sick. I assured him he didn’t have to come over, that I’ll see to it that you’re brought home to stay with him for a while.”
Alexandra had frowned in confusion, but he’d simply rubbed soothingly on her hand, and kissed the side of her head. She’d sighed, laid her head against his shoulder, and drifted into an exhausted doze.
It took a day or two after that for her to get over the trauma of what she’d experienced. Now back in her family home, she saw hardly any glimpse of Cane, as her father cancelled all his other work commitments to focus on her. There were nurses, maids and cooks to see to Alexandra’s every need as she recuperated. Malia had also been so marvelous and attentive, coming round the house and even stayed over whenever she could, keeping Alexandra company and brightening her spirits after her ordeal.
“All this time, we were thinking it was someone from your business transactions, while all the while, my getting into danger was my fault,” Alexandra told her father guiltily now, as he came up to where she stood by the window and took her by the shoulders.
Her eyes were misty as she looked up at him. “I’m sorry dad. I should have listened to you. Getting involved with Lamar in the first place was a big mistake.”
“We all make them; and I’m sure somehow, I’m more to blame than you might think,” her father said with a heavy sigh. “I pushed you away with my workaholic lifestyle. I should have been your best friend, your confidante, not someone who just paid your bills or simply wore the label of ‘father’. I was never really there, was I?”
“You’re here now,” Alexandra said softly, giving him an affectionate smile, and the older man nodded gratefully, his smile just as warm even as Alexandra’s heart ached for another person she couldn’t help wishing she could also say was right there with her, but he wasn’t.
The last time she’d seen Cane, he’d been let into her room by the hired nurse over a week ago. It had been her old bedroom when she’d still been living at home, and she couldn’t help beaming when Cane appeared. The sling was gone but she could tell that underneath his impeccable looking dark suit and tie, his shoulder was covered in bandages.
“You look great,” he’d said with a slanted smile once the door closed behind the nurse and they were alone.
“So do you,” she said softly, drinking in the sight of him and wondering how she could still look at him without melting completely to pieces. She did melt, but somewhere deeply hidden from knowing eyes.
He sat on the chair by her bed and then leaned forward, tucking her hair behind her ear. She caught his slight grimace as he used his injured hand which he drew back carefully. Alexandra’s eyes filled with concern.
“Does it hurt?”
He grinned at her worried look, shaking his head. “Only when I forget and move it too quickly. It’ll be fine.”
The air stilled as the moments ticked by in silence. She watched him, he watched her. There was a rueful look on his face that filled her with dread even before he began, “Alexandra…”
“Don’t tell me. With the threat taken care of, I don’t need a personal bodyguard anymore, do I?”
He sighed deeply. “That’s up to your father to decide. But for now, he sees no reason to continue with the security arrangements contracted with the firm I work for. But that’s not what I came to tell you. The thing is…I’m off on another assignment.”
If Alexandra thought her heart couldn’t sink any lower, it did now. “What? But…your injury…”
“It wasn’t much more than a nick,” he told her quietly. “And besides, I’m to act mostly in an advisory role. I’ll be leaving the country in two days.”
Alexandra hated that her lips were trembling. She hated that she felt so weak and helpless. She’d been through a lot when she’d been taken but it didn’t account for her being bed-ridden and weak. But the doctors had advised her to rest after the strain she’d suffered in those harrowing hours. And yet all the drugs and pills must have got her feeling all emotional and vulnerable, which showed in her words as she breathed, “Why are you still mad at me?”
Cane stared at her in stark surprise. “Why on earth would I be mad at you?”
She was breathing hard, holding back the sobs but unable to keep the tears from spilling from her eyes. “For leaving the house on my own. Disobeying your instructions. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been outside alone when Lamar attacked. I almost got myself and you killed and I know you hate me…you fucking hate my guts…”
“Oh my God, Alexandra, I don’t hate you,” he growled, shooting forward and grabbing her face, making her look deeply into his eyes. “How can you even think me capable of that?”
“Then why are you leaving?” she moaned.
A ragged sigh escaped him, and he rested his forehead against hers for a moment. Then he raised his head to look into her eyes. “I don’t hate you,” he repeated clearly, his clear green eyes pinned to hers. “But I can’t…Alexandra, I can’t give you what you want.”
“Why? Because I’m a billionaire’s daughter and you’re a just a bodyguard?” she spat, eyes filled with hurt and pain. She regretted her words immediately and wanted to take them back, but he was nodding.
“You could say that. And now, I have another job to do. So I’m off to do it. That’s who am I, Alexandra. It’s all I am. And I can’t expect you to have to deal with that. But for what it’s worth, I’m happy you’re safe.”
“And I guess I should say thank you now for rescuing me,” she said bitterly, her heart crumpling as he pulled away.
“Your father has already done that, many times. Besides, protecting you was my job, so I really don’t need you or anyone thanking me for doing what I was assigned to do,” he said calmly.
“Still…I appreciate what you did,” she told him softly, her eyes downcast as she clenched her hands on the bed covers.
“I know you do,” he said in a tone just as gentle, and her gaze lifted to find him looking fixedly at her face as if to memorize every feature. Alexandra’s heart pounded and suddenly, she was reminded of Cane’s kiss, and how the earth had shifted when his lips touched hers. It was one sensation that had stuck with her of all the things she’d been through that day.
“You’ll be fine,” Cane suddenly said with a small smile. “You’re graduating in a few weeks, and before you know it you’ll start your dream job designing wedding dresses that look like they came out of a fairytale.”
“Too bad my fairytale couldn’t come true though, huh?” she said with an unsteady smile that didn’t hide her pain. He stared at her for a few moments but before he could say another word, the nurse reappeared and said it was time for Alexandra’s lunch and then a nap. Alexandra wanted to scream at the woman that she wasn’t a fucking invalid, but didn’t want to act that way in front of Cane. Not that it mattered anymore what he thought; she’d probably never see him again.
When he was gone, she could barely get half-way through the lunch served in her room before she waved the dishes away and asked to be left alone. And spent her ‘nap’ crying soundlessly into her pillow as she remembered the sight of Cane walking away without a backward glance.
***
“Alex? Are you okay?”
She blinked away her pa
inful thoughts and saw her father looking quizzically at her. “Sorry. I was miles away.”
“Figures,” he said drily. “But I was asking, don’t you want to know who I just finished speaking with?”
Alexandra tried to dredge up some enthusiasm for the topic. “I’m not sure…would I want to?”
Her father huffed, sending her a knowing look. “It was Noah Preston, from the security firm.” Instantly, Alexandra’s heart started to pound and her fists clenched at her sides as she strove for calm.
“Oh,” was all Alexandra could say in reply.
Donel Duke was now back behind his desk, shuffling through papers as he spoke casually. “Noah’s assisting me with a new security system I’m instituting for my head office, so we’ve been in contact. However he mentioned something that caught my attention. It seems you have shown an interest in a certain member of his staff.”
Alexandra hung her head, telling herself she knew what was coming next. Her father would give her a lecture about getting on with her life, leaving the past behind and forgetting about any silly notions she might be harboring.
Well, no one needed to tell her she was silly, calling Noah up a few days ago to ask about Cane. She’d been desperate, out of her mind. The past two months without seeing him, hearing from him had almost sent her berserk. Had he returned safely from his last assignment? Could he be back in the country? Just thinking that Cane was somewhere on the planet and she couldn’t ever see or hear from him was like a cruel life sentence.
So she’d done the most shameful thing and rang up Cane’s boss.
“It’s great to know you’re okay, Ms. Duke,” Noah Preston had said in a cheerful tone. “What you went through was in no way easy.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Alexandra had replied, though she knew she wasn’t talking about her abduction ordeal. The words of a popular song struck her as she wondered how it was possible trying to live with a broken heart. It was almost like driving with flats. It just didn’t work.
