by Becca Van
“You’re just a slimy little worm who couldn’t keep a woman if your life depended upon it. Now get up and leave. The sight of you turns my stomach.”
Bob got to his feet warily, glared at her, and then left.
“Where did you meet that arsehole?” James asked from near the door to the kitchen.
“Um, I went out with him for a while. You don’t have to tell me I was stupid, I already know it. He used me as a punching bag when I broke up with him a couple of years ago, and I ended up in hospital. I vowed then and there I would never be vulnerable to the physical strength of a male again. Hence the black belt in Karate.”
“I don’t know, Nikki, there’s something about him that’s not right. He had murder in his eyes just before her left,” James warned.
“He’s one demented bastard all right, but I can take care of myself. You saw that just now. He won’t bother me again.” Nikki said with a confidence she’d never felt before.
“Well, I hope you’re right, boss, but I have a feeling you haven’t seen the last of that sicko.”
The rest of the week was busy for Nikki and James as they were planning another art showing in the gallery. She was working all hours in preparation, making sure everything was set to go for the weekend. Tony, Colt, and Bear were busy setting up their horse and cattle farm.
They were all working from dawn to dusk and all any of them did at night was fall into bed and sleep the sleep of the exhausted. They all knew things would even out once everything was set up and they would have more time to spend with Nikki, and she with them once her art showing was over.
The Spencer brothers had been working hard setting up corrals, cleaning out the two large barns and refitting them with stalls to house the horses due to be delivered at the weekend. They really wanted to be able to attend Nikki’s art gallery showing on Saturday, or so they’d said in the beginning, but her men had let her know that they wouldn’t be able to make it after all. At first, she was disappointed but then she conceded she was being selfish. She of all people knew that work came first. They’d had three simultaneous deliveries happening and all three of them were needed on the farm.
The day of the showing arrived. Nikki left for the gallery early that morning, taking up James’s offer to use his bathroom to shower and change in his apartment so she wouldn’t have to go home. As the hour to showing drew near, Nikki and James ran over last-minute details, making sure everything was ready.
The caterers had been and gone. They had placed all the finger food and champagne in the large commercial refrigerator Nikki had in the back room. All that was left was for her and James to shower and get changed then set out the food and drink.
Once everything was ready, including her and James, they looked at each other and opened the doors to the gallery. The first of the guests arrived and from then on they didn’t stop moving, talking, and replenishing drinks and food. The showing was a success. Everything they had put on display had once again sold. They were both ecstatic as the last of the guests left. Nikki kicked off her heels and gave a sigh of relief as she eased herself down into the chair behind her desk. James was too tired to get a chair from the room out back and slumped down on the floor next to her with his back resting against the wall. They each had a glass of champagne in their hand and took a sip.
“Well, James, my friend, here’s to another successful evening!” Nikki raised her glass to her assistant.
“Yeah, we were a hit again. I can’t thank you enough for taking me on, boss. I’ve learned so much from you already.” James raised his glass to her.
“Hey, don’t thank me. If it wasn’t for you, none of this would’ve been possible,” Nikki said sincerely. She knew she never would have been able to manage everything on her own. “We make one hell of a team.”
“Yeah, I guess we do at that,” James said with a smile.
“Why don’t you go on up? It won’t take me long to clear this stuff into the back room. The caterers will pick up the dishes in the morning and you don’t have to worry about letting them in. I gave them a key to the back door and I’ll make sure to deadlock the internal door to the gallery so they can’t get into the gallery or your apartment. Just think. No work tomorrow. You can sleep for as long as you like.” Nikki smiled tiredly.
“If you’re sure. I think I will, otherwise I am going to fall asleep right here on the floor. ’Night, boss.”
“Good night,” Nikki replied.
She sat contemplating the events of the afternoon and gave another grin. She couldn’t believe how successful her little gallery was becoming. She finished off her glass of champagne, rose from her chair, and began to collect the used glasses and plates. She placed them in the containers ready for the caterers to pick up the next morning, gave one last turn around the gallery looking for any missed items, locked the front door, and made her way to the back. She locked the internal door, grabbed her purse and keys, shoved her shoes into her bag, and headed to the back door. After locking the door behind her, she was about to turn toward her car when she felt a prick on the side of her neck.
Nikki spun around and began to wobble on her feet. Her vision began to blur as she looked up into the dark brown eyes of a stranger. Movement to the side of him drew her eyes and she saw the mad green eyes of Bob Hackett just before blackness consumed her.
Chapter Nine
Nikki woke in the back of an SUV. She could hear male voices but they weren’t familiar. She opened her eyes to mere slits as she took in the occupants of the vehicle. Bob Hackett, her ex, was driving the car but the man in the passenger seat was a stranger to her.
She tried to stretch her cramped arms slowly so the bastards who had kidnapped her weren’t aware she was conscious and felt the cold hard metal of handcuffs around her wrists and the tight burning rasp of rope around her ankles. There was no way for her to escape while she was bound. She was going to have to be patient and wait for an opportunity. She was cold with fear and she was shaking but then anger began to build up inside and bubbled up in her chest, and the fear began to lessen.
Nikki clung to that anger and vowed to do anything she could to escape. She had the abilities and skills to save herself and was going to do just that, when the opportunity presented itself. She had three loving men to get home to and she wasn’t going to let anyone ruin that for her. Nikki had only just found the loves of her life and she intended to spend years growing old with them.
Playing possum was her best bet at the moment. She kept her eyelids open enough to see, but not enough that they could see she was awake. Now all she could do was bide her time.
* * * *
Bear, Colt, and Tony had just loaded the last of their new horses into the stalls in the stables. Bear gave a sigh of relief as Colt filled the last bag of feed hanging over the stall gate. He froze mid-stride and gave a gasp of pain then slumped to the floor of the stables. Tony and Colt were on him in an instant, shaking him, and they gave a sigh of relief when he opened his eyes and blinked at them.
“What the hell was that?” Tony asked.
“Fucked if I know. I felt a prick in my neck and passed out for a second. I’ve never felt anything like that before,” Bear said with bewilderment.
“You scared the shit of us, Bear. I thought you were having a heart attack or something,” Colt snapped.
“Hey it was no picnic for me either.” Bear got to his feet. He had a bad feeling niggling in his gut but had no idea what it was. He didn’t like the feeling one little bit. “What time did Nikki think she was going to be finishing up tonight?”
“She wasn’t sure. Said it depended on how quickly the paintings sold and when the guests started leaving. Why?” Tony asked.
“Dunno. I’ve got a bad feeling, that’s all. Have either of you got your mobile on you?” Fear snaked down Bear’s spine.
“Yeah,” Colt answered as he dug his from his pocket.
“Call Nikki, would you? I just want to make sure she’s all right.”
Bear was still not happy they hadn’t contacted Nikki. Something was wrong but he had no idea why he had that feeling. “Colt, call the gallery and see if you can get her or James.”
“Okay.” Tony dialed and put his cell to his ear. “James, how’s it going? Yeah…Well great…Glad it was such a great night. Is Nikki there? What? When? No, she hasn’t come home yet. Fuck! Okay we’re on our way.” Colt disconnected the call.
“What?” Tony and Bear asked together.
“She left nearly an hour ago. James looked out his bedroom window and Nikki’s car is still in the parking lot across the lane but there is no sign of Nikki. Let’s move it,” Colt commanded.
Their truck came to a screeching halt at the back of the gallery. James was ready for them. He had the back door wide open. Bear, Colt, and Tony studied the parking lot near her car and then moved toward the back door of the gallery. Bear saw a glint of light flash beneath his torch. He bent down to study the hypodermic needle discarded on the ground. “Tony, Colt, come here, look at this.”
“What have you got?” Tony asked as he moved aside.
“Needle. What do you think?”
“I think the sting in my neck felt exactly like a needle. Fuck it, someone’s drugged and kidnapped our baby,” Bear roared.
James moved toward them and studied the ground. “A stranger was in here at the beginning of the week asking for Nikki but she wasn’t here. He gave me the creeps but I had no idea why. He came back yesterday, said Nikki belonged to him and he wasn’t letting her get away from him. She called him Bob Hackett.”
“Jeezus,” Colt snapped and ran his fingers through his hair.
“I think he might have been an ex,” James continued. “Anyway he lunged for Nikki but she tossed him over her shoulder and told him to leave. He left but I knew he’d be back. He looked insane. Nikki brushed it aside saying since she could take care of herself now and had showed the bastard she could, he would be too scared to come back for her. I guess she was wrong. I’m sorry.”
“Fuck! Colt, call Noah, Zach, and Tom, tell them what’s going on and see if they have anything on this arsehole on their database. Tell them we’ll be at their house in a few minutes. James, I want you to stay here in case Nikki manages to call or get free and gets back here. This card has our cell numbers on it. Don’t hesitate to call no matter what. Thanks, James, at least you’ve given us something to go on,” Tony said and hurried out after Bear and Colt.
The Spencer brothers met Zach, Tom, and Noah at the police station a few minutes later.
Their cop friends had run a name check and had gotten lucky when they found a vehicle registered to Bob Hackett. They’d put out an all-points bulletin call over the police radio, hoping for someone to see the car. The car was registered at an address in Melbourne and there was nothing they could do because it was out of their jurisdiction.
“Well, I don’t give a fuck whose jurisdiction it is. That’s our woman out there. We’re not cops and we can go looking anywhere we damn well please,” Colt snarled.
“Colt, give us an hour, please? If we haven’t heard anything by then, I’ll let you start looking and I’ll help you.” Tom looked from Bear, to Tony, and back to Colt then nodded at his brother, Zach, and best friend, Noah. They gave a nod of affirmation. Bear knew they would help look for their missing woman as well.
Bear kept looking at the clock on the wall and his watch as the six of them drank coffee and talked through plans while Zach’s, Noah’s and Tom’s new fiancée, Beth, kept the coffee and snacks coming. Bear began to feel restless but groggy. He couldn’t work out what was going on. He began to slide from the chair he was sitting on but his brothers grabbed him before he hit the floor.
“What is it, Bear?” Tony asked quietly.
“Hell if I know? I was feeling restless and then all of a sudden I was feeling really tired and groggy. Wait, how far is it from here to Drummond?” Bear asked.
“About an hour. Why?” Noah asked.
“I just had that name flash through my mind. It was like I was looking at a sign through blurry eyes.”
“Do you think you’re seeing what Nikki’s seeing? Maybe she’s just woken up after being drugged. See if you can connect with her, Bear,” Tony commanded.
Bear closed his eyes and concentrated on their woman. He thought of how he felt when he was buried deep inside her. How it felt to have her snuggled up in his arms. Her scent, the sound of her laughter, and the love they shared.
“Brandon is that you? How can you be here with me?” Nikki’s voice echoed in his head.
“Are you all right, baby? Where are you? Are you hurt?” Bear spoke to Nikki using his mind.
“No, I’m not hurt, but an ex of mine has gone a little crazy and decided I belong to him. His name is Bob Hackett and he has an accomplice. I don’t know who he is. They’ve got my hands in cuffs and my ankles are tied with rope. We are near somewhere called Drummond, Brandon. I don’t know where that is. He drugged me.”
“Nikki, stay with me, baby. Nikki!” he called out, reaching for her with his mind, but he was greeted with silence.
“I connected with her. She knew I was in her mind. God, I love that woman. She said they’re near Drummond. She was drugged and her ex has her, but he has someone helping him. She’s cuffed and her ankles are tied with rope,” Bear snarled.
“I’ll get on the radio and make a call. Here, take this police radio so I can stay in touch with you.” Tom handed over his portable radio then headed into the station to the put a call over the police band.
Bear, Tony, and Colt took off and headed in the direction of Drummond. They sped through the night, hoping they wouldn’t get pulled over by the police themselves. They arrived on the outskirts of Drummond. It was one of those small towns that, if you blinked as you passed it, you would miss it. It was a spread-out rural community. Bear concentrated on connecting with Nikki again.
He felt her stir in his mind and he had the flash of a name pass through his head, Fishers House. “Give me that police radio, Colt. Thanks. Hey, Tom, you there?”
“Yeah, Bear, what’s up?”
“Can you do a property title check on a house called Fishers House and give me an address?” Bear asked Tom.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
* * * *
Nikki woke up as she was placed on a bed in a dark room. A lamp was clicked on and Bob Hackett stood staring down at her. He moved his hand and began to stroke her cheek. Nikki flinched, turning her head away and tried to wriggle out of his reach. He reached over and grabbed the chain between the handcuffs and hauled her back to him, grabbed her hair and pulled her head back as he released her wrists. He licked her cheek with his tongue. Nikki had to concentrate on not gagging and pissing him off even more by vomiting.
“I told you no one escapes me, honey. You and I are going to be married tomorrow morning. My friend out there is a marriage celebrant and is going to perform the ceremony for us. I have a dress picked out, ready and waiting for you,” Bob said in a high-pitched, singsong voice.
Oh shit! He is completely insane. Her only hope was to escape. He had to untie her if he wanted her to get dressed in the wedding gown. He was going to have to release her arms and legs so she could dress and when he did, she would be ready. He released his hold on her hair and backed from the room with a giggle.
The effects of the drugs began to wear off. She remembered having a strange dream. She was talking to Brandon, letting him know she was all right. God, maybe she was going crazy, too. The stress of the night, a glass of champagne and drugs in her system were making her hallucinate. She drifted back to a restless sleep.
Nikki was jerked awake by rough hands pulling on the chain of the handcuffs. She bit back a cry of pain as they dug into her wrists. She was hauled to her feet and realized the ropes which had
been around her ankles were gone. She watched Bob tentatively as he placed a key into the cuffs and undid them.
“I want you to take a shower and get ready for our wedding, honey. I have your dress all ready for you.” Bob lifted his free hand from his side and trained a gun on her. “I’ll wait out here while you get ready, Nikki. No funny stuff or I’ll kill you.”
He shoved her into the adjoining bathroom and closed the door behind her. Nikki was so scared she began to shake. She used the facilities and then turned the shower on. She crept back to the bathroom door and quietly turned the lock. There was a small window above the toilet but it was too small. She opened the door to the bathroom and when she saw the bedroom was empty she hurried to the door and peered out. No one was around so after closing the door behind her she almost ran to the front door. Just as she opened the door and stepped out she heard Bob scream.
“Get back here you fucking, little bitch,” Bob roared.
Nikki slammed the door closed behind her and ran as fast as she could. She was running for her life. Trees ran the length of the property, so she headed for them to use as cover in case Bob started to shoot.
She heard him screaming as he slammed out the door and she ducked down behind a large tree trunk. She held her breath, hoping he wouldn’t find her. If he did, she was dead.
* * * *
Bear cleared his mind, breathed deeply, and concentrated on their woman. He saw her in his mind, her petite, lithe figure, her sexy little curves and her pure, sweet heart. He felt her fear as she ran out the front door, her adrenaline kicking in as she took off toward a line of trees. She was scared the man chasing her was going to shoot her with a gun.
