The Thorntons Box Set

by Nic Saint

  “He’ll have anticipated that,” came Roland’s low voice.

  “What do you think he’ll do to her?” He didn’t dare ask, but simply had to.

  Roland cocked a surprised eyebrow. “Your own brother, and you’re asking me? You know better than anyone what he’s capable of, Chief.”

  Jackson’s jaw clenched. He knew. He also knew Ty had always had a thing for Chloe, ever since they’d all been teenagers together. Back in those days the enmity between the two families hadn’t been this cutthroat. Jack and Harlan had been mere competitors, and there even had been shared barbecues and garden parties.

  Chloe had always rejected Ty, though, feeling instinctively the man was bad news, and Ty hadn’t taken this well. He’d pursued her for a while, until both Jack and Harlan had laid into him, forbidding him to go near the girl ever again. Jackson didn’t know why they’d resorted to this drastic measure, but knowing his brother’s volcanic temper and penchant for sadism it wasn’t hard to figure out.

  And now he had her.

  “I’m calling my father,” he announced.

  “What good will that do?”

  “He controls Ty. He’ll tell him to back off.”

  “Your father sent Ty. He sent him to kidnap Chloe and use her as leverage.”

  Jackson’s finger hesitated over the call button.

  “When I told you we were closing in on Harlan I wasn’t lying. Your father has gone too far this time. He’s been working with well-known drug lords, shipping the stuff into the country, leaning on the DEA to turn a blind eye. I’ve got the whole story primed to go wide. It’ll destroy him and he knows it. I thought you knew.”

  “Like I told you before, I haven’t spoken with my father in ten years. He has disowned me. I wanted nothing more to do with his sordidness. Start life afresh and I have. Far away from the likes of Harlan de Montesquieu or Ty.”

  “He called my father yesterday. Said you and Chloe had hooked up, and wouldn’t it be a shame to scrap the banns when Chloe has already gone through so much already. Said he would allow the wedding to go through if Dad promised to let bygones be bygones and can the Colombian story.”

  Jackson closed his eyes. “My God. But how did he know?”

  Roland hitched up his shoulders. “Harlan must have had Chloe followed. How else?”

  “Of course,” agreed Jackson, remembering the sensation he was being watched on the ship. “It’s the only way.”

  Roland eyed him sharply. “My initial thought was that you and Harlan set this up together. That you followed Chloe onto that boat and took advantage of her vulnerability.”

  Jackson shook his head adamantly. “No way. I had no idea she was your sister, Roland. You have to believe me. It’s been more than a decade. Perhaps I should have recognized her but I didn’t. She was a child back then. Now she’s a woman.”

  Roland slowly nodded. “I think I do now. No one is that good a liar. And like I said, you’re no Bobby De Niro.”

  “One thing doesn’t make sense. If Harlan decided to let the union between me and Chloe play out, why did he send Ty to kidnap Chloe in the first place?”

  “My opinion? Your brother’s a loose cannon. Perhaps Harlan sent him out here to keep an eye on you two, but you know how Ty has always felt about Chloe. He always figured she was his for the taking, and now he has done just that.”

  Jackson lowered his phone. “Then calling my dad won’t do us much good.”

  “No, it won’t. It’s up to us now. You and I are all that stands between Chloe and disaster. So think. Where can he have taken her?”

  Jackson tried to calm his nerves and apply logic to the situation. It was hard, with Chloe’s life hanging in the balance. This wasn’t merely another missing persons case. This was the woman he loved, and she was with a known sadist, rapist and murderer. He had a hard time suppressing the cauldron of emotions roiling in his gut.

  Then suddenly an idea struck him. “I know a place he might have taken her.”

  Chapter 16

  Chloe’s tears had stopped the moment the car lurched into gear and she was brusquely slammed into the back of the rear seats, a toolbox painfully colliding with her hip. She steadied herself as her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness and her nose to the pungent odor of the synthetics used for the car’s interior.

  Where the hell was Ty taking her? She knew he was crazy, but had never realized just how crazy. Kidnapping her? So he could marry her? This was simply nuts. Never would she agree to marry the maniac. He couldn’t make her. Could he?

  She thought about Jackson and hoped he’d already discovered her missing and would do everything that lay in his power to track her down. He had one advantage over Ty: he knew the lay of the land. Ty, on the other hand, was nuts, and a crazy person’s moves are by definition unpredictable.

  Then she thought back to what Ty had said about Jackson being his brother, and her initial fear he’d willingly seduced her and brought her out here. Could he be right? She did remember now that Ty had a brother called Jackson. A quiet young man who’d slowly succumbed to a drug addiction, she’d lost track of what had happened to him. She racked her brain trying to remember his face, but she’d never really seen much of him.

  Could this Jackson—her Jackson—be that Jackson? She found it hard to believe. Ty would tell her anything just to toy with her. Like a cat torturing a mouse. He loved to play games. To taunt and provoke. And to rape and kill, her overcharged mind quickly supplied.

  Yes, that too, she thought somberly.

  And the fear returned full force, and with them the tears, and before she could stop herself, she’d broken down into a sobbing mess again, fearful of the fate Ty had in store for her.

  “Jackson,” she whispered. “Please, save me…”

  The Jackson she knew would never harm her. Impossible.

  Abruptly, the car jerked to a stop, and she was slammed into the seats again and yelled in agony as her head hit something hard and unyielding. Fingering it briefly, she discovered it was a hammer that must have fallen out of the toolbox. She gripped it tightly, and waited for the engine to be cut off and the trunk to be opened. She would hit him hard—so fucking hard!

  The engine idled and for a few minutes nothing happened. Then it was turned off and the motion of the car indicated Ty had stepped out. Gripping the hammer tightly, she readied herself for the confrontation she knew was about to come, and when suddenly the trunk’s lock was sprung and sunlight blasted her field of vision, she popped up like a jack-of-the-box and swung the hammer in a clean arc, aiming for her assailant’s face.

  Instead, she hit air, and her movement would have landed her on the ground if strong arms hadn’t gripped her and prevented her fall. The hammer was wrenched from her grasp and casually flung into the car where it hit the spare tire with a dull clunking sound and she was dragged backwards, kicking and screaming, until a punch to the gut knocked the wind right out of her, and she hung, limp and defenseless, in Ty’s arms.

  “Jeez, Chloe. You haven’t changed a bit, have you?” he grumbled. “Still the fucking wildcat.”

  As her breath returned with stertorous gasps and heaves, she focused on her environment. He’d swung her over his shoulder again and the world had turned upside down. She saw green fields, and then a farmhouse came into view.

  “Is this where you’re going to marry me?” she asked defiantly.

  He chuckled. A horrid sound. “Yeah, right. No, this is where we’re going to spend our honeymoon. You see, I’m a firm believer in the credo a couple should live together for a while before tying the knot. Get to know one another. Sexually, if you know what I mean.” He guffawed at his own joke, and gave her a prod in the ribs.

  “Get your filthy hands off me, Ty de Montesquieu!” she raged. “Put me down!”

  “We’re gonna have so much fun, you and me,” he murmured as he paid her no mind. “We’re finally gonna be the sweethearts we never had the chance to be, through no fault of our own, mind you. Ou
r fathers never approved of this match between us.”

  He abruptly cast her aside and her fall was broken by a bale of hay that lay discarded to the side of the barn. She yelped as she fell to the wooden floor, mud and hay meeting her hands.

  He stood staring down at her, a wild grin on his face. “A genuine Romeo and Juliet story, ours, eh?”

  In response, she struck out with her foot, aiming for his shin, but he quickly sidestepped her swipe, then grabbed the front of her blouse and hauled her to her feet and promptly smashed her down on top of the bale. “Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. To be absolutely honest with you, babe, I prefer the hard way.” He laughed. “But seeing as we’ve known each other for so long, I’m willing to go easy on you this first time.”

  She shook her head wildly. “No, Ty. Don’t do this, please. I’m begging you. Let me go.”

  He arched his brows, and she noticed once again that small scar that cleaved his left brow. She even remembered how it got there. Slinging rocks at an old church one night, one of the windows had splintered and a sliver had almost hit him in the eye. He hadn’t minded the scar. Thought it made him look tough. That it did. And downright scary.

  Slowly, his hands started feeling their way around her shirtfront, squeezing and fondling. “Small tits, huh? Funny. I always thought you’d grow into a real woman one day, but I see you didn’t.”

  Her lips quivered in a strange mix of abject fear and rage and then she slung his hands away and made a dash for the door. He tackled her easily, and she went down hard, scraping her hands, and when he pinned her down, his mouth was on hers in a heartbeat and his tongue seeking entrance with an urgency and a heat she hadn’t expected from a man this vile.

  And then he was all over her, his hands freely roaming her body, his knee spreading her legs and driving up between her thighs, and her mind went blank as her body went limp, all the fight leaving her as she thought of Jackson and how she hoped he would be storming through the door right this moment and take out this brute with one fell swoop to the head, killing Ty de Montesquieu once and for all.

  Chapter 17

  Ty stared down at the naked woman at his feet. He’d carefully undressed her, making sure her clothes would serve their purpose later, but now he hesitated. Her eyes had turned dull and dead, and her body limp, as if her spirit had fled along with her will to fight. This wasn’t how he wanted it to be. This wasn’t how he wanted their first time to be at all.

  Ever since he was a teenager, he’d lusted after this girl. She’d been younger than the rest of them, always Roland’s baby sister, and yet he’d had a craving for her that he couldn’t explain, her innocence and beauty attracting him like no other. And then, as they grew older, she’d turned into a gorgeous teenager, and he’d asked her out on a date once or twice. She’d always refused, and that was even before the feud between their families had really grown twisted and out of control.

  He’d still lusted after her, but from afar, and had even hired a detective to follow her around. That’s how he’d managed to obtain the pictures of her kissing her older brother. Nothing serious, he knew. Just a young girl’s fantasy. The fact that his father had used those pictures to intimidate hadn’t been to his liking, but he hadn’t exactly been in a position to protest.

  If his father discovered he still had the hots for Chloe Thornton, there would be hell to pay. So even though his own detective had sold his pictures to his father, he’d pretended he’d never seen them before, and had watched in silence as Chloe went from being New York’s little princess to the most defiled young woman in the city in the space it took to print one innocent picture. The same space it had taken her to place that peck on Roland’s lips and the brief moment it had taken for the detective to frame his shot and press click.

  Life, he thought, was weird that way. And now here she lay, and he finally had everything he’d ever wanted. He had her. Vulnerable and available, and all it would take was for him to do what came naturally. To fuck the living daylights out of her and then cast her aside.

  And yet he found that he couldn’t. Not like this.

  With a sigh, he collapsed to the floor beside her, and stared down at her naked form, trailing a finger along her silky skin, admiring the soft swell of her rosy nipples, the gentle slope of her mound and the silky softness of the landing strip she’d fashioned between her thighs. She was so lovely, a real work of art. Then he tore his eyes away and knew with a definitiveness he couldn’t comprehend but still felt deep in his bones that he had to let her go.

  He picked up the clothes he’d casually flung aside and handed them to her. “Get dressed,” he commanded hoarsely. “The love affair is over.”

  Life returned to her frozen limbs as she eyed him curiously. “You’re not going to…” She swallowed away a lump of discomfort.

  He shook his head slowly. “Nope. I thought I could, but now I find I can’t.” He shrugged. “Beats me why.”

  She placed a hand on his arm and he jerked it away, as if stung. “Perhaps because you care about me, Ty.”

  He displayed a half-smile. “Maybe I do.” He shook his head. “Oh, Chloe, Chloe. Why you never fancied me I’ll never know.”

  She gave him a sad look that did much to steel his resolve that this was the right thing to do. “Love isn’t something that can be commanded, Ty.”

  “I guess you’re right. It isn’t.”

  He placed a hand on her cheek, then cupped her chin in a loving gesture. She placed her hand on his and for a moment they stayed like this, gazing into each other’s eyes, then he reluctantly dropped his hand from her cheek and rose to his feet. “Get dressed. I’m taking you back to my brother’s place.”

  She turned away, suddenly embarrassed by her nudity. “So he really is your brother?”

  Something in her voice had him frown. “He is. Didn’t you know?”

  “I didn’t. He looks quite different now than he used to.”

  “Father disowned him years ago. He is a different man now. I haven’t actually laid eyes on him for ten years myself.”

  “He changed his name.”

  He smirked. “Jackson always was the weak link in the family chain.”

  She turned to him, eyes suddenly fiery, just the way he remembered her. “Jackson isn’t weak. He’s stronger than you are.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” he offered. “He’s a stranger to me now.”

  “Perhaps you can reconnect. I think you will find he’s an honorable man.”

  “You mean, unlike myself and my father?”

  She blushed darkly. “You know what you are, Ty. What you’ve become. Don’t deny it.”

  “I know exactly who I am, Chloe. No need to remind me.”

  She eyed him with renewed interest. Even though she still thought he was no better than a common thug, she had to admit his actions had surprised her. She really thought he was going to rape and kill her, and now this. Did Ty de Montesquieu, contrary to all rumors, have a heart after all?

  She felt an odd tremor race through her at the thought that he’d almost fucked her just now. That she’d been naked and prey to his twisted desires and had almost taken her and made her his. And then he hadn’t. She wondered why.

  “You raped my sister-in-law,” she suddenly stated flatly. “You almost killed her. I don’t think I can ever forgive you for that, Ty. And one day you will get what’s coming.”

  His lips twisted into that smirk again. “The delectable Anna Moonstone. I think you’ll find that not everything you hear about me is true, Chloe, dear. Perhaps one day you should ask Anna what really happened that night at The Capital. Though I have a sneaking suspicion she mightn’t tell you.”

  Chloe raised her chin mutinously. “I know exactly what happened that night. You and your goons almost killed that poor girl, and the second time you even brought her out to the East River to kill her. You’re a crook, Ty. A common thug.”

  Ty’s smile disappeared, and for a moment Chloe feared she’d
gone too far and he would rip the clothes off her body and have his way with her as he originally intended. But then he merely stood there, glowering, his powerful body rippling with fury. “Talk to Anna, Chloe. And don’t believe everything you hear. I may be many things, but I’m not a killer of women.”

  “Well, I don’t believe you.”

  “Ask Anna. Perhaps you might believe her.”

  At these words, he abruptly closed his mouth with a click, apparently feeling he’d said too much already. He gestured curtly. “Are you quite finished?”

  “Yes,” she said a little meekly, suddenly feeling intimidated by his mere presence. And the persistent thought he’d seen her naked, and had even touched her. Her hand surreptitiously crept to her chest and touched her breast where he’d touched it, fingered it lovingly with a gentleness she hadn’t thought him capable of.

  She stared at him, wide-eyed, drinking him in as strange sensations stirred in her bosom. Those large, powerful hands roaming freely across her naked body, that mouth slashed across hers, his tongue exploring her mouth, his knee pressing her legs apart, then kneading her crotch, her soft pussy lips against the hardness of him…

  She shook her head to clear her mind. This was crazy, she thought as a hot flush crept up her cheeks. She couldn’t feel aroused by Ty’s touch, she simply couldn’t. She loved his brother Jackson. Loved his tender touch, his loving gaze, his sweet caress.

  And yet she carefully studied Ty’s chiseled features, the hawklike nose, the long face, all hard planes beneath that bald dome, and that hulking powerful body, capable of lifting her up like a feather, and slinging her down, powerless in his hands.

  She gulped as his gaze returned to her and he caught her staring at him. Then his eyes softened, and he directed a rare smile in her direction. “Are you ready? I’ll take you back to my brother now. He must be worried sick about you.”