“I love you. Please don’t think this was your fault,” she said.
Damn. How did that even happen? A woman like her loving a man like him?
“Aw, how sweet.” Rand laughed, and shifted his grip to make that final fatal twist.
As Rand’s arms tightened painfully around her neck, Anna knew she was about to die. He’d win, and Brent would be destroyed. No! She made a last frantic lunge for the knife sheathed at Rand’s waist. Her heart almost seized when she finally snagged the handle and pulled it free.
She adjusted her grip and drove the blade deep into Rand’s solid thigh. He howled in pain and released her. She leaped for the bed and Rand’s gun. He’d been seconds from raping her—the knowledge gave her a hunger for vengeance she’d never experienced before.
But he grabbed her foot and she hit the mattress face-first.
“Let her go, asshole.” Brent raised the gun and aimed it at Rand’s chest. But Rand let go of her foot for a moment to fling the nightstand, one-handed, at Brent and it knocked the gun out of his hand.
Grabbing at the sheets, Anna tried to drag herself across the bed. She didn’t care that she was nearly naked. She just wanted to live. Rand grabbed her foot again with bruising force. She turned her head and watched him rip the knife from his thigh, a look of hatred blazing from those black depths as he raised the knife to slash her. Memories of Peter flashed through her mind and she kicked hard.
Brent launched himself, connecting his solid fist to Rand’s nose, which burst with blood, and he let her go. The fact Brent had already risked everything for her made him a hero. The fact he’d been willing to kill for her showed her his love and devotion. She didn’t need the words and doubted she’d ever get them. A barrage of blows knocked Brent back a step, and her heart lodged in her throat as Rand lunged after him with the knife.
“Get out of here,” Brent yelled at her.
No way was she leaving him. The gun. She scrambled across the bed and grabbed Rand’s gun, but her hands were shaking so badly and the two men were so close together she couldn’t risk shooting.
Brent clearly needed all his wits to fend off the enraged man coming after him with a bloody knife clutched in his fist. He dodged to the left and kicked at Rand’s knee. Rand grunted in pain but didn’t go down. Brent grabbed a towel off the radiator and wrapped it around his left arm for protection as he tried to keep between Anna and the man who’d tried to destroy her, who’d treated her like she was a piece of trash.
He was protecting her again. Protecting her from what it felt like to take a life.
“You think you’re some sort of badass because you killed your old man?” Rand swiped blood off his chin with the back of his hand and sneered at Brent.
“I protect what I love.”
The admission stunned Anna and she swayed. Finally, he’d recognized the instinct that was programmed into his DNA. She wouldn’t change him for anything.
“I’m going to take her from you, Carver. You won’t be able to stop me.” The flat tilt of that cruel mouth said he believed it too.
“Not as long as I’m breathing, cocksucker,” Brent said. “Get out of here, Anna. Let’s prove we’re a lot smarter than this dumb-ass.”
Anna edged toward the door. It made sense, but the idea of leaving Brent alone with this animal didn’t sit easy. And where were the others? What if she ran into another of Rand’s gang and they ended up back at square one?
The gun shook in her grip. “I’m not leaving you, Brent.”
Brent jumped out of reach of six inches of honed steel.
“She’s just waiting for me, Romeo.” Rand cupped himself and jeered. “I’ve got something you can’t give her.”
Not what to say to a woman who’d already been raped once. A woman you’d beaten and stripped and humiliated. Shaking with rage she pointed the gun at Rand’s penis, and the guy sucked in a sharp breath and took a half step back. Finally showing her a little goddamned respect.
“Anna,” Brent warned.
God. It ripped at her. The desire to just hit back harder, to hurt and inflict pain. To force him to value her as a human being. But Brent knew the cost and he was trying to help her. She recognized that even as she rode the wave of fury.
So she aimed lower, at his feet, and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
She pulled it again, but got the same thing. Anna’s jaw dropped and everything started happening in slow motion. She dropped the gun. Rand grinned and went to slam that honed blade into Brent’s gut, but a shot ripped through the glass and a gaping hole appeared between Rand’s eyes. He went rigid, suspended in the air for a long second before toppling onto the bed. She shuddered as blood and brain matter sprayed the room.
Brent snatched Anna into his arms and squeezed her tight, turning her away from the bloody mess of the dead man.
She couldn’t believe it was over. Rand was dead. Her legs barely worked, but she didn’t need them with Brent holding onto her like a parachute in free fall. That’s what her life felt like right now—free fall, and she needed Brent if she ever hoped to land safely. “I can’t believe you found me.”
“I can’t believe I let you go.” He ran his hands over her body, as if reassuring himself she wasn’t injured. She burrowed closer, wanting to crawl inside his skin.
“Are you OK?” he asked.
She laughed at the dumb question. “Yes. No. I’m sore all over. Bruised and battered,” she shivered in his arms, “but I’m alive and he didn’t rape me. Thankfully, he was saving that for the finale.”
“He got his own goddamn finale.” He rocked her against him. Then he pulled off his T-shirt and pulled it over her head. It hung almost to her knees, but she still trembled in reaction to everything that had happened. She pressed up close to his warmth, knowing this man was her hero, the same way he’d been Finn’s hero. And she loved him so much it hurt.
“I was a jackass earlier,” he murmured into her hair. “There’s a good chance I’ll always be a jackass.”
She shook her head and winced because the headache was coming back, stronger than before. “I was awful to you. I tried to push you away so you’d be safe from them but I was stupid—”
“If I hadn’t been a prick, these guys wouldn’t have taken you.” Lines of anguish cut into his face. He sure did like to torture himself.
“Ed might have just shot you and I couldn’t have coped with that.” Anna dragged his face down to hers and kissed him.
He raised his head. “I don’t deserve you but I want you. I really want you—to be with you.” He gently kissed her. Ouch. Her lips throbbed and her head pounded, but she never wanted him to stop. “I can’t believe I let that fucker get his hands on you.”
“Ed tricked me into his car but I finally remembered where Dad would have sent the envelope and found the evidence.” She met his gaze, a fresh wave of anguish moving through her. “Ed set up Dad and we all believed he was guilty. Everyone but you.”
Brent nodded. “Jack Panetti figured it out too. Your dad knew it was Ed. I’ll make sure the world knows Davis was an innocent man. Your father deserves that.”
Anna nodded, her grief still new and heavy. Now it was heightened by the fact she’d let him down so unforgivably.
Brent’s arms tightened around her as if he knew what she was thinking. “He loved you. More than anything else in the world, he loved you.”
“I just wish I’d been a better daughter, a better person.” But regrets were worthless without change. Now was a good time to make those changes, and Anna was determined to cling to this new chance of starting over. She looked up at the man who’d risked everything for her and ran a fingertip over his jaw. “I feel like I barely know you, and yet…” she whispered.
“I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”
She felt it too. An inexplicable, unbreakable connection. They held each other’s gaze, and then her jaw dropped as she suddenly remembered. “Oh, God. My mom.” She pulled
away. “We have to get my mom.”
CHAPTER 18
There was another loud crash downstairs, voices, and the pounding feet he’d been expecting. “That’s the cops now. Better late than never.”
Anna’s eyes widened. “Where’s your gun?” He spotted it beside her suitcase and scooped it up.
“They can’t find you with that.” Her eyes went wide and frantic and she went to grab it. Desperate. Because she worried about him. He stepped over to the corner wall, hidden from view, and ditched his weapon and ammo into another secret wooden cubby that was invisible to the naked eye. Two seconds later, cops burst into the room.
He put his hands on his head as the cops made them both lie down on the floor and frisked them for weapons.
They checked that the bad guy was actually dead and then, when Brent couldn’t stand it for moment longer, he growled, “Get this woman a medic and a fucking blanket.” And he realized with sudden clarity that he didn’t care about what people thought of him. He wasn’t a bad person. He’d been forced to make an awful decision and he’d paid for it. But nearly a quarter of a century later, he was finally willing to forgive himself and move on. To give himself a second chance, to have a better life, a normal life. Assuming his ass didn’t get thrown back in jail…which wasn’t looking so great from this angle.
Someone removed their jacket and helped Anna to a standing position as they wrapped it around her.
Black shiny boots entered the room. The head of the Emergency Response Team and Brent’s future sister-in-law. He grinned. “Hi, Holly. I’ve been meaning to ask what I’m supposed to wear to the wedding. I hope you don’t mind stripes.”
She pursed her lips, not impressed by his attempt at humor.
“Who took those first shots downstairs?” asked the burly police officer with the pissy attitude.
“I assume it was one of your guys.” Brent shrugged from his uncomfortable position on the floor. “I was busy having the snot beaten out of me.” Again.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” the tactical cop asked Holly in a tone that made her bristle.
“Right here,” said Finn, coming in the room sans weapons. Thank Christ. “I was helping Anna’s mother to safety.”
“She’s OK?” Anna choked out.
Finn nodded and smiled. “She was about to stage her own rescue when I found her. Harvey’s fine too.”
Anna’s face transformed. “Oh, thank goodness.”
“The guy who took out the kidnapper said you were armed.” Head of ERT pointed a finger at Brent. “Where’s the weapon?”
“The guy’s seeing things. The only gun belonged to that fucker.” Brent eyed Rand’s body with disgust.
“Possession of a firearm is a parole violation, Mr. Carver.” The guy nodded his head to one of his officers.
Shit.
“You cannot be serious!” Holly argued. “He doesn’t have a weapon and he just saved this woman’s life.”
“Interfering with a police operation? You bet your ass I’m serious. And I’ll find that weapon.”
Suddenly Brent heard the familiar sound of handcuffs, and his whole body clenched when someone slipped them around his wrists.
“No,” Anna screeched. “You are not arresting the man who just saved my life.”
Although Brent figured technically he hadn’t saved anyone. Finn went to open his mouth. Holly was about to step in when they all heard the familiar strident tones of his neighbor.
“I demand to see my client immediately.” Laura.
Hallelujah. “How’d she get here so fast?” Brent asked no one in particular. She was downstairs, but he could hear every word of her exchange with the cops.
“Someone must have called her.” Holly’s expression was impassive.
And he closed his eyes, because Anna was safe and nothing else mattered. He suddenly remembered what she’d said to him when she’d thought she was about to die. He rolled on his back, a mixture of fear and excitement churning in his gut. “Did you mean it?”
Huge green eyes regarded him with absolute certainty. “I love you,” she said in front of everyone.
Brent grinned.
Holly tapped him with her foot. Harder than strictly necessary.
“What?” he snarled.
“You don’t just leave a girl hanging when she tells you she loves you.” She glared at him, as if this was the biggest problem they currently faced.
“I said it already.” Technically speaking. “How would you like an audience every time something important happened in your life?” He shook his head. Then he laughed, which wasn’t comfortable when handcuffed and lying in shards of broken glass on his own highly polished hardwood floor. He looked up at the woman who’d shown him exactly why freedom was all it was cracked up to be. “I love you, Anna Silver. I will do anything for you. But don’t put your life on hold for me. Do not wait for me.” He groaned as some big bastard hauled him to his feet. “I might not be around for a while.”
“You need to get ready, Brent. Your life is about to change,” Anna warned him.
That didn’t sound like much of a promise. The woman never listened to him anyway. They marched him out the door in handcuffs. Finn too. Laura was going to freak when she saw that. He grinned. “Bring it on.”
Twelve hours later, Katherine sat on a bench seat inside police headquarters. Out front, members of the press were prowling like hungry dogs in search of scraps. They’d gotten hold of this story involving cop-killing mercenaries, millions of dollars of stolen money, kidnappings, a shootout, and an almost decade-old miscarriage of justice. The place had exploded, everyone wanting an exclusive. Katherine had been released from the hospital with a few minor bruises. Most of the damage wasn’t physical, and she knew she was going to need some professional help to get through the guilt.
Guilt for not believing Davis. Guilt for Anna getting hurt. Guilt for dragging Harvey into this mess. Even guilt for getting Ed killed. She hadn’t wanted that. She’d never wanted that. She drew in a shaky breath, feeling like she’d been physically beaten. Every muscle ached and it still didn’t touch the mental anguish.
Police had questioned her for hours, showing her various mug shots, including one of the nice young man who’d saved her. She’d seen him led away from the house in handcuffs. She’d been confused and then realized that whatever he’d done to save her life probably hadn’t been legal, and her opinion of the justice system had slipped another notch. Her memory had grown pretty fuzzy about the details after that. All she knew for sure, or so she’d told the police officers who’d questioned her, was that she couldn’t remember whether or not the young man had been armed when he’d come and whisked her to safety. Then she’d questioned them, on why they hadn’t worked harder to believe Davis’s story. If they’d just dug deeper—if she’d just had a little faith in something as extraordinary as true love.
She didn’t blame the police for her part in Davis’s betrayal. That was all on her. And how he must have hated her. But they’d botched their investigation and needed to admit it, to make sure they never did anything so destructive again.
Harvey came out of an interview room. The look on his face when he saw her was one of relief. “Thank God you’re all right.” He sat heavily beside her. Almost touching. Odd to be so hyperaware of him now sitting so close, when they’d spent hours holding hands and holding each other together.
“Are you OK?” she asked quietly.
He nodded and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t think the Mounties bought my story about overpowering the guy and getting that gun off him, though.” Harvey shrugged. “I think those men are in serious trouble for saving our lives and I’ve made sure they know they have my attorneys at their disposal.”
“I think Anna’s in love.” Katherine hoped her daughter dealt with it better than she ever had. She wrapped her arms around herself, cold to the bone. Her clothes had been taken by the crime scene people, so she was in scrubs from the hospital. Harvey was in a borrowed swe
at suit and looked a little ridiculous. He didn’t seem to care.
“From the look on Brent Carver’s face, I’d say the feeling is mutual. I wonder who he is. See the art on his walls?”
Katherine had been too scared to notice pictures. She shook her head.
“Barb’s on her way here,” said Harvey after a brief moment of silence. “Ed tied her up in your room. She seems pretty worried about me.”
“Do you think you two can work things out?”
Harvey shook his head. “No, but we can part ways amicably and with dignity.”
Katherine felt an uncomfortable knot tighten in her throat. Dignity. That would be nice. Her life was constantly being dragged through the gutter and newspapers. She had to find a way to get past it all. To move on.
“I’m about to bury two husbands in one week. I think that might be a record.”
“Christ. I can’t believe what you’ve gone through.” He scrubbed his hand through short gray hair. Neither of them was young anymore. “I’m glad you didn’t have to go through it alone.”
She smiled and patted his hand. “So am I. Thank you.”
They sat in silence for a little while. The clock ticked and people moved around them, but it was like they were together in this odd little bubble. She was going to miss this man who’d accidentally become her friend.
“Maybe,” she said cautiously, “when this is all over, we could go away on a trip. A platonic trip,” she added.
“I’d like that.” His eyes crinkled at the edges. “Where to? Sun, or sand?”
She looked down at the floor and thought about all she’d done with her life and all she wanted to do. “Maybe we could go wherever the whales are,” she said quietly.
He swallowed thickly and then stood. “I’d like that.” And then he walked away.
Anna came out of the interview room to intense bright sunshine. She blinked at the light and rubbed her eyes. She didn’t know the last time she’d slept, and worry for Brent gnawed at her brain. She couldn’t believe they were holding him, that they could revoke his parole whether he’d committed a crime or not.
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