Bound by Secrets (Cauld Ane Series)

by Tracey Jane Jackson

  Brodie swore. “Where is she?”

  “I don’t know. I fought back and got away.” Payton took a deep breath, grimacing when Brodie pressed the linen to her lip again.

  “Sorry, love,” he said.

  “I’m okay, Brodie.” She gripped his shirt. “Let’s just go. I want out of this bloody shop.”

  “We’ll take it from here,” Alasdair said. “Take Payton home and I’ll fill you in when we know something.”

  Brodie nodded and guided Payton out of the building and to his car, relieved to find it hadn’t been towed or ticketed. Once she was settled, he climbed in and faced her. “Let’s see if I can’t help that cut, eh?” He cupped her cheek and closed his eyes, opening them again to find the cut healed. He smiled. “Better?”

  She nodded and lifted her shirt. “Can you take care of this as well?” A large, ugly bruise appeared over the right side of her ribs.

  “Payton, why didn’t you tell me?” He laid his palm gently on her side to heal the bruise.

  “I just wanted out.” She let out a deep sigh. “Thank you. I’m fine now, love.”

  “I’m taking you back to the flat, and you can walk me through what happened.”

  Payton nodded, and leaned her head against the seat back, closing her eyes. Brodie drove as quickly as he could back to Kade’s building and walked her up to the apartment. Unlocking the door, he stepped back and Payton preceded him into the room. As soon as he closed the door, she burst into tears and slid into his arms.

  “Shhh, love. I’ve got you.”

  “I’ve never been so afraid in my life,” she rasped, gripping his shirt. “She had a syringe, Brodie.”

  He rubbed her back. “What did she look like?”

  “Black hair, green eyes, and she had a scar on her right cheek. I couldn’t tell how long her hair was…it was in a bun.”

  “You’re amazing, sweetheart.”

  Payton frowned up at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You managed to get all of that detail even though you were frightened. It’s remarkable.”

  She snorted. “I wouldn’t call it amazing or remarkable. More like determined not to get hit with Red Fang again. I went into survival mode.”

  “You’re safe now. You’ll stay with me until we find out what’s going on.”

  “Bloody hell…I left everything at the shop. I was supposed to return those jeans and pick up mum’s vase.” She flopped onto the sofa and dragged her hands through her hair. “I don’t even know where my purse is.”

  “I’ll call Ali,” Brodie said. “We’ll have some replacement things sent over, and he can look for your purse.”

  She nodded. “The vase was Fiona’s birthday present, but I suppose I can find something else if I need to.”

  “We’ll get another one.”

  She smiled. “You make everything sound so easy.”

  “Problem solving is my forte.” He kissed her quickly. “Why don’t you pour some wine and I’ll call Alasdair.”

  “Okay.” Payton headed to the kitchen, and Brodie made his way to the master bedroom.

  CHAPTER NINE

  PAYTON POURED THE wine and then went looking for Brodie. She found him filling the ridiculously large bathtub. “Is it tubby time?” she asked.

  “It is for you,” he said, pointing to the robe laid out on the counter.

  She widened her eyes. “You’re drawing me a bath?”

  “Why? Is that weird?”

  “Not weird…just unexpected, but in a good way.” She bit her lip. “I forget sometimes just how romantic you can be.”

  He chuckled. “Well then, I need to do a better job of reminding you.”

  “Oooh, yes, please.”

  “Take some time to relax, love,” Brodie suggested. “Alasdair’s taking care of everything at the shop.”

  “Did he find my purse?”

  “Aye. They also found the woman who attacked you.”

  Payton frowned. “Is she still alive?”

  “Aye, she is. But that’s all I’m telling you.”

  “That’s fine.” Payton wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I want to know anything more.”

  “Probably wise.” He poured bath gel into the water. “A new vase and your replacement jeans are being sent over. You and I are spending the rest of the weekend together, and no one will bother us.”

  Payton sighed, kissing him quickly. “I do love you so, Brodie Gunnach.”

  “Back atya, baby.” He grinned and kissed her again. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  Brodie left the room, and Payton undressed and slid into the bubbly water. She heard Brodie’s muffled voice in the other room and smiled. Even through a thick door, his voice was sexy. As she soaked, she thought back to the events of the day, and then sat up as memories assaulted her. “Crap. Brodie!”

  “Are you okay?” Brodie pushed open the door.

  She squeaked and covered her chest. “Brodie Gunnach!”

  “You’re in heavy suds, love, I can’t see anything.” He closed his eyes and grinned. “But I can imagine.”

  “That might be worse.” She shifted, sloshing water over the rim. “Turn around.”

  He crossed his arms and did as she demanded. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “Oh, right. I remembered something.”

  “What did you remember?”

  “The woman knows your mother.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, turning his head enough for her to see his frown.

  “When I was fighting with her, I got a vision. It was a little confusing because I didn’t touch her for long, but your mother was with her…at a train station maybe. I’m not sure.” She groaned. “What I don’t understand is why she’d come after me.”

  “I have a few ideas,” he said. A knock at the apartment door interrupted any further explanation. “I’ll get that.”

  Brodie left the bathroom and Payton climbed out of the tub, dried off, and donned the robe, opening the door as she tied the sash. She sidled into the great room just as Brodie closed the front door. Jenners’ bags sat on the floor next to the door. He nodded toward them. “Clothes are here.”

  “I see that,” Payton said, and investigated the purchases while Brodie called Alasdair. In order to give him a measure of privacy, she took the bags back into the bedroom and got dressed. There weren’t just jeans, but enough clothes to last her a week, which she found a bit decadent, but knew her mate would expect nothing less from the department store personal shoppers. Rather than dressing in anything she’d brought with her, she chose a brand-new pair of black yoga pants and a fitted v-neck T-shirt, and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail.

  When she made her way back to the great room, she found Brodie still on the phone, so she sat on the sofa and turned the television on. Keeping the volume low, she surfed through a few of the channels, landing on a crime drama.

  “Aye,” Brodie said, distracting her from the television. “No. Aye. Aye. Okay. No, I get it. She’s not leaving the flat…neither am I.” He shook his head. “Sort it out, Kade. No, I’d rather be here. I trust you. Okay, ’bye.” Brodie hung up and faced Payton, forcing a smile.

  “So, what are they doing with the woman?” Payton asked.

  Brodie slid his phone into his pocket. “They’re going to interrogate her and go from there.”

  Payton held her hand out to him. “I’d tell you to go help, but I know you.”

  “Yes, you do.” He sat next to her and kissed her palm. “I wasn’t with you this afternoon and that didn’t go well.”

  She smiled. “Don’t beat yourself up, love. I handled it.”

  Brodie shook his head. “For someone as demure as you appear to be, I wasn’t expecting such a badass for a mate.”

  Payton giggled. “Angus taught me how to fight like a true highlander.”

  “I guess he did.”

  “What’s going to happen with the K’s?”

  B
rodie frowned. “Karl is the reason you were able to get away. He followed the woman, even when he couldn’t contact Kevin on the two-way. He didn’t like her look, apparently. He’s the one who took her down and incapacitated her enough to get her shackled. Without using Red Fang.”

  “And Kevin?”

  Brodie scowled and shook his head.

  Payton sat up on her knees facing him and cupped his face. “I’m okay, love,” she reassured.

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, kissing her deeply. Breaking the kiss, he settled his forehead against hers and took several deep breaths. “If anything ever happened to you…”

  “I know,” she whispered. “But it won’t. You’ve got me, remember?”

  He gave a slight smile. “Aye. I do.”

  “So, what’s going to happen with Kevin?”

  Brodie sighed.

  “Brodie?” she pressed.

  “I will allow Alasdair to make the final decision,” he said, reluctantly.

  “You will?”

  “Aye, but I don’t like it. He shouldn’t have let his guard down.”

  “I’m very proud of you,” she said, and kissed his cheek. “So, we have the entire weekend to spend together. Outside of making out on the sofa, what do you want to do?”

  “What do you mean?” He grinned. “That’s pretty much all I want to do.”

  “Typical man.” She slid her fingers through his hair. “Are we relegated to the flat, or can we go out?”

  “Flat for now,” he said. “But we can order in, or you can cook…then we can watch a movie, and…make out on the sofa.”

  Payton giggled. “I see where this is going.”

  “I always knew you were smart.”

  “I am quite looking forward to some alone time with you, I have to admit,” she said. “We’ve been so busy lately, that even with you being at the offices every day, it’s not the same.”

  “You could always move in with me now. We don’t have long before the bonding…we could start our new life together a little early.”

  Payton grinned. “I’m not a strumpet.”

  He laughed. “I know that, sweetheart. I’m not suggesting you are. I can’t bind you yet, so it would be separate beds until then, anyway.”

  She bit her lip. “As appealing as that sounds, my mother would kill me, and even if she wouldn’t, I’d rather be above reproach.”

  “You’re here with me now, Payton.”

  She sighed. “That’s true. Let’s just say it’s for safety reasons, to make me feel better about it, okay? Rationalization will work just fine for me at the moment.”

  “It is for safety reasons.”

  “This is good, baby. Say it again.”

  “Along the lines of keeping you safe,” Brodie grinned. “I suggest dinner, a movie, and…”

  “Making out on the sofa,” she retorted. “Yes. That works for me.”

  * * *

  The next morning, Brodie woke to find Payton curled up next to him in the spare bed. He vaguely remembered her waking him in the middle of the night, but had slept so heavily, he assumed it was a dream.

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing her neck. “What are you doing in my bed, Redilocks?”

  “Does that make you one of the three bears?”

  “Sexy bear.” He waggled his eyebrows. “The lesser known fourth bear.”

  Payton giggled, inching closer to him. “I had a bad dream, I think. Or I missed you. I don’t remember. Which one makes me less of a strumpet?”

  Brodie chuckled. “Bad dream falls into the category of needing to feel protected, so we’ll stick with that.”

  “Perfect.” She rolled over to face him. “I could get used to this.”

  He slipped her hair away from her forehead. “Not long now, eh?”

  “Too long, in my opinion.” She kissed him quickly. “What’s on the docket for today?”

  “I’ll find out if my brothers have any updates and go from there. If it’s safe, let’s go somewhere fun.”

  “Ooh, like a date?” she said, excitedly.

  “Exactly like a date.”

  She grinned. “I accept.”

  “Why don’t you shower and I’ll call Kade.”

  She nodded. “Sounds good.”

  Payton headed to the master bathroom shower and Brodie grabbed his cell phone. Kade answered on the first ring. “Hi, Brodie. How’s Payton?”

  “She’s good. Any news on Jet?”

  “No, but Mum wants to see us.”

  “Seriously?” Brodie frowned. “Did she say why?”

  “No, but she’s requested an audience, and I think it would be a good time to ask some questions.”

  “And she wants all of us?”

  “Aye,” Kade said.

  Brodie nodded. “When?”

  “Today. Alasdair and Ronald will go with us. Dalton, Cole, and the K’s will stay with the ladies. My place is the most secure.”

  “What about Fiona?”

  “Mum didn’t mention her and Angus would rather Fiona stay away. Even if Mum had asked for her, I’m not sure he’d allow Fiona to go. You know how long he’s detested Mum. He doesn’t want Fiona anywhere near her, not to mention caught up in this business with Jet.”

  “Aye.” Brodie sighed. “Damn it, Kade. I want this guy dealt with.”

  “He will be, Brodie. For now, try to enjoy your private time with Payton. Once we speak with Mum, we can make some decisions. Payton doesn’t have to come back to work until it’s all resolved.”

  “Obviously.” Brodie rubbed his head. “But I’ll let you tell her that. I’m not to interfere in her work.”

  Kade chuckled. “I’ll text her now.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Someone will collect you at eleven.”

  “We’ll be ready,” Brodie said, and hung up.

  Payton walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, dressed and with her hair wrapped in a towel.

  “That was quick,” he said.

  “When I get to spend the day with the most gorgeous man on earth, I don’t mess around.”

  “Yes, about that. There’s been a bit of a wrench thrown into our plans,” he said, frowning.

  “Why?”

  “My mother has requested a meeting with me and my brothers. You’re going to stay with Sam and Pepper at Kade’s while we sort it out.”

  “Be careful, Brodie.” She bit her lip. “I know that goes without saying, but I don’t like her sudden need for a meeting. Does she think she’s going to receive clemency?”

  Brodie shrugged. “I have no idea. But if she’s got people going after you, or Sam, for that matter, then her reach is further than I thought.”

  “What if she has people close to you in her pocket? Baldvin was kind of random, even with the factor of my sister, but what if she has someone “inside” helping her?” Payton grimaced. “I should come with you.”

  “No.”

  “Brodie, I might be able to get some information. It might not be entirely accurate, but it might give us something.”

  He shook his head. “Absolutely not. You would have to touch someone to learn anything, and I’ll not allow you close enough to do that.”

  “You’ll be there to protect me.”

  “No, Payton. The cells are covered with Red Fang, and kept warm to slow the prisoners down. No. End of discussion.”

  “Fine.” She raised her hands in defeat. “No need to go all alpha male on me. I’ll be the good subservient little woman and stay at home.”

  “I don’t expect subservience, Payton.”

  “Well then, don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot,” she snapped.

  “I’m sorry, Pay.” Brodie sighed, dragging his hands through his hair. “I didn’t mean to belittle you. I just want you safe.”

  She crossed her arms. “I know, but sometimes, your need to ‘keep me safe’ borders on bossy. And we are going to be partners in this bonding, Brodie
. Even if it kills me.”

  He smiled. “Are you going alpha female on me now?”

  “Damn straight I am.”

  Brodie laughed. “I love your strength, Payton. I’ll try to remember you’re not a simpering fool.”

  “Thank you.” She grinned. “What time do you have to meet Alice?”

  He checked his watch. “A car will be here in under an hour.”

  “Okay. Go take your shower. Then you can ensconce me in the ivory tower and vanquish any dragons there might be.”

  Brodie grinned. “Have you ever considered writing fiction?”

  “I don’t have to write it. I live it,” she retorted.

  “You’re hilarious, sweetheart. Maybe you should try comedy.”

  “Yeah, heard that one before.” She snorted. “Niall tried to get me to do that years ago.”

  “Of course he did. He’s always one step ahead.”

  “Stop it.” Payton gripped the front of his shirt. “He’s just my friend.”

  “I know that, love.” Brodie kissed her quickly. “I’ll be out in a bit.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  Brodie showered while Payton dried her hair and put on a little make-up. By the time Brodie exited the bathroom fully dressed, they had less than ten minutes before a car would arrive. “You’re worse than a woman,” she complained.

  “What?” He flexed a bicep. “It takes time to look this good.”

  Payton giggled. “Oh, please. You roll out of bed looking that good.”

  “But you’re not biased.”

  “Not at all. It’s a fact.”

  “Thank you, love.” Brodie pulled out his phone. “Car’s here. Karl’s on his way up.”

  “I’m ready.” She grabbed her purse and followed Brodie down the hall to Kade’s flat.

  * * *

  Kade’s home was heavily guarded by Dalton and Cole, along with three other Cauld Ane security, including Karl but no Kevin. Once Payton was delivered, Brodie climbed into Alasdair’s SUV with his brothers and the group headed to the Cauld Ane holding facility.