by Marie Carnay
She laughed and Ian suppressed a shiver. “I told Brandon we should have made it more obvious. But he insisted your guard dog could handle it. Where is he?” She peered out into the dark. “Hiding out in the shadows?”
“No. He’s at the police station giving them enough evidence to put you away.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “You really think they can help you? Wow. Brandon was right about the two of you. All bark. No bite.” She stepped back and let him walk inside. Rich wood paneling, deep green and red carpets, leather furniture. The perfect hunting lodge for the rich and famous.
Ian swallowed. “Where is she?”
“Tsk, tsk. Have some patience, will you? Brandon’s just warming her up.”
Ian’s anger flared and he clenched his fist. He stalked up to Ivy and stopped an inch away, his nose almost brushing hers. “Take me to her. Now.”
She cocked her head like a cat and hollered. “Brandon, honey, our guest is impatient. Are you ready?”
“Send him in.” Brandon’s voice echoed down the hall and Ivy smiled.
“You heard the man. After you.”
* * *
HOLLY
Holly’s head lolled on top of her body like her neck was overcooked spaghetti. The first punch had shocked her. The second made her brains ache inside her skull. The third turned everything upside down.
Something warm and wet dribbled down her cheek and she probed the swelling with her tongue. The metallic tang of blood wafted into her nose and she forced herself to stay awake. Ian needs me.
She’d heard the pounding on the door between blows. He was there to rescue her.
Holly tried to focus, breathing through her mouth to ignore the smell of her own blood. As she straightened up on the chair, Ian appeared.
“Oh, no. Holly!” One look at her and he rushed forward, about to wrap her up in his embrace when Brandon shoved him back.
“Easy, tiger. You don’t get to touch her until my girl over there is satisfied you’ve learned a lesson.”
Ian stepped back. “What did you do to her?”
Brandon grinned. “Just a little payback. Don’t worry. I left all the workable parts. Might need those later.”
Oh my God. The man was even crazier than Holly had given him credit for. Brandon had shed his jacket and tie and rolled up his sleeves and Ivy had taped her to the chair.
But the first punch had caught her off guard. She never thought he’d hit her.
From the way Ian looked at her, she must be a wreck. She swallowed a mouthful of blood and saliva and tried to focus as Ian turned to Ivy.
“I get it, Ivy. You’re pissed we broke up. But it’s over. Hurting Holly doesn’t change that.”
She twirled a strand of dyed blonde hair around her finger. “No, but it sure makes me feel better. We were supposed to be together, Ian. If it hadn’t been for that little slut spreading her legs for Blake and Devin, I’d have my bar, you’d have me, and we’d be happy.”
She tossed her hair back and pointed a fake nail at Holly. “Now she’s done the same thing! What is it with the men in this town? You had me all to yourself and it wasn’t enough. But as soon as some tramp invites two of you into bed you’ve found your soulmate? It’s disgusting!”
“The only thing disgusting around here is you and your boy toy.” Ian took a step toward Holly. “Tell me, does he even know that you’re just using him to get revenge?”
Brandon cracked his knuckles and Holly bit her tongue to keep from whimpering. “She’s not using me. We’re in this together.”
“Right. Did you know she’s got quite the reputation with the older gentlemen in town? It’s a shame your father’s not still alive. I’m sure she would have loved your old man.”
“That’s enough!” Brandon shouted loud enough to make Holly wince. She didn’t know what Ian’s game plan was, but if it involved riling Brandon up, it was working. She wanted to tell him she was all right and to calm down, but she stayed quiet. She didn’t trust herself not to cry.
Ian and Trent would find a way out of this. She had to believe it.
Brandon motioned to Ivy. “Grab the tape. Let’s get him contained.”
Ivy scurried to the side table and grabbed a roll of duct tape. The same tape she’d wrapped around Holly’s wrists until her fingertips turned blue.
Oh, God. Once Ian was tied up, what hope did she have? They’d die there in that house in the woods. Even if Trent figured out how to get in, could he take down two people who wanted them dead?
Ivy scampered back with the tape and Holly turned to Brandon. He pulled a strip of tape off the roll and cut it with his teeth.
She had to do something. Holly wasn’t a woman to just be pushed aside. I’m a fighter, damn it. She licked her blood off her swollen lip. “If you kill him, you’ll never get your money.”
Brandon paused and the vein in his neck pulsed. “Are you telling me it exists?”
Whatever lies Holly told now would be worth it if Brandon stopped. She’d do anything to get her and Ian out of there alive. She glanced at Ian before turning back to Brandon. “I lied. I have the money. All of it. If you let us go, it’s yours.”
Ivy laughed and Brandon shot her a look. “Shut up.”
She pouted and palmed her hip. “You know she’s lying. Get over here and tape him up.”
Holly interrupted. “I’m not lying. I came back to town to settle up with the trustee.” She paused. Please, Ian. Figure it out. “Ian set up a meeting. He’s expecting me tomorrow. We can go together. I’ll sign it all over to you.”
Ian chimed in right on cue. “She’s telling the truth. Holly came to me asking for help with the trust. I paid for a lawyer, got the trustee to agree. Everything’s done. Holiday’s about to become a very rich woman. Unless you kill her.”
Brandon’s eyes narrowed as he turned to Ian. “What happens if she dies?”
Ian grinned like he’d just won at blackjack. “It all goes to charity. A women’s shelter in Seattle.”
Brandon spun on his heel. “Bitch! That’s my money!”
Ivy whined. “Brandon, honey. Don’t listen to them. Come and help me. You promised.” She grabbed the tape and tore off a piece. “I need you.”
Brandon turned on her. “You’re the one that convinced me to do this!” He stared at Ivy with wild eyes and bunched his fists. “You’re the one who told me the money was gone. That this was the way to make her pay. I believed you!”
Ian stepped closer to Holly. “She was lying, Brandon. Ivy was using you to get to me. It’s been her plan all along. I bet she convinced you to do all the dirty work, too. Did you cut the brakes to Holly’s car? Did you break into my place?”
Brandon chest rose and fell, but he didn’t speak.
“Ivy’s going to pin it all on you. Just watch.” He stepped close enough to touch her. “She’ll walk away and you’ll be stuck rotting in jail.”
“You wouldn’t!” Brandon hollered as he lunged at Ivy. He snatched the tape from her hands and it skittered across the floor.
Ian slipped behind Holly and tugged at the tape. “Trent’s outside. We’ve got to get out of here.” He crouched behind her and she angled toward him. “Tell me if Brandon comes this way.”
Holly nodded. She turned back around as Brandon grabbed for Ivy’s throat.
Oh my God. He’s going to kill her. Holly shouted, but her words were eclipsed by the shattering of glass. Shards of the picture window behind her flew in all directions as Trent barreled into the room, gun drawn.
Calm and in control, he pointed his pistol right for Brandon’s head. “It’s over Brandon. Get away from Ivy.”
Brandon’s fingers encircled her neck and he spun her around. “You’ll have to kill her to get to me.” He held her in front of him like a shield.
Ivy screamed and clawed at his hand. “Let me go! You’re supposed to be killing them, not holding me hostage!” She kicked at him and Brandon gripped her tighter.
“Stop fighting, you
bitch, or I’ll break your neck!”
Trent took aim. “Try it, Brandon.”
“Gladly.” He grabbed her head in one hand and her shoulder in the other and as Ivy shrieked, Trent fired.
* * *
TRENT
Brandon’s eyes went wide in shock as the bullet pierced his neck. He let go of Ivy and as his hand reached down to the gun tucked in his waistband, he fell to the floor.
Too much blood loss would do that to a guy. Trent stalked up to him, gun still drawn and ready. But there was no need. Brandon wasn’t a threat anymore.
Ivy sunk to her knees, scrabbling toward her boyfriend’s body. Blood pumped from the wound on his neck, soaking the white of his tux shirt and dripping into a puddle on the floor.
Trent paused. He didn’t know what to do with the woman.
Ivy grabbed Brandon by the head and started screaming. “Get up! Get up you asshole! They’re supposed to be dead, not you! Who’s going to make them pay? Where’s my revenge!” She shook him harder and the blood pumped faster. It soaked the hem of her dress, bright red inching up the silver fabric like dye.
Ian stepped forward, but Trent waved him off. She might not look dangerous, but the woman tried to kill him.
“Get the tape. Let’s get her secure.”
“What? No!” Ivy stood up, bloodstains covering her knees and dress and shoes. “You aren’t taping me up! You’re supposed to be dead!” She lunged at Ian and Trent stepped forward.
A single swing and the butt of his handgun hit the side of her head. She crumpled to the floor.
He turned to Ian. “How about that chair? Make sure it’s good and tight. I’ll find a knife.”
Adrenaline still pumped through Trent’s veins, but the threat was over. Now came the aftermath. He steeled himself to look at Holly. He’d ignored her since he’d busted in, refusing to acknowledge the wounds Brandon had inflicted. But he couldn’t avoid them now.
Her left eye socket had swelled close to shut and blood oozed from a gash in her lip. Her dress was torn in multiple places and a nasty purple bruise was spreading across her arm. She’d been beaten.
Trent exhaled and dropped into a crouch at her feet. “I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner. This is my fault.”
Holly shook her head. “No, it’s not. You just saved my life.”
He ran a hand over her hair and smoothed it down. “I should have figured it out. It’s always the exes. I don’t know why I didn’t put it together.”
“She’d covered her tracks. Besides, you’d never have thought to look for Brandon. He’s my problem, not Ian’s.”
“He’s not anyone’s problem now.” Ian hauled Ivy into a chair and wrapped the tape around her wrists. “He’s dead. And Ivy’s going to jail.”
Trent nodded. “It’s over.” He stood up and brushed a lock of hair away from Holly’s face. All the pain she’d gone through tonight could have been avoided. He’d never forgive himself for that. “Let me find a knife. I’ll cut you free.”
He turned to walk away, but she called out. “Trent!”
“What?” He spun around. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
Damn it. He wanted to tell her to stop it—he wasn’t a hero. He’d failed and let her get hurt. She could have died. Ian, too. “You should be thanking Ian, too. It was his idea to rush in and bait Brandon.”
Holly blinked at turned to Ian. “It was?”
He nodded. “I didn’t want to wait for the police. I couldn’t stand not knowing what he was doing to you.”
“Then thank you, too.” She turned back to Trent with a raised eyebrow. “Now about that tape.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HOLLY
“BEFORE YOU SAY anything, I’m okay.”
Hillary exhaled so loudly Holly heard it over the phone. “Thank God. Tell me it wasn’t as bad as I’ve been imagining.”
“I could lie. Would that help?”
“No. Just let me sit down.”
Holly took a deep breath and relayed the details to Hillary until her best friend shrieked and launched into near-panic mode.
“I’m coming up there. Do you need me? I can be there in an hour. Maybe less.”
“No. I’m fine.” She glanced up at Trent pacing back and forth and gesticulating at the police officer. “Trent and Ian are…well, they’ll be okay. The police are here and the EMTs. You should stay in Midnight Cove.”
“Are you sure? I could bring something. Cookies?”
Holly smiled. “No. Really Hillary, it’s okay. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“First thing in the morning, all right? Because if you don’t I’ll be banging on Ian’s door with a box full of pastries and I won’t leave until you talk to me.”
“Talk to you soon.” She hung up the phone and exhaled. Hillary was safe and Ian and Trent were too. They’d all survived a pair of crazy people out to kill them and get revenge.
She shook her head. Hours ago she’d been worried about how she could let herself fall for two men. She’d spent days trying to convince herself it was just a fling—and because of what?
What other people might think? Because she might have to move back home and deal with her past?
It all seemed so trivial now. So unimportant.
When Brandon had dragged her out of that trunk and tied her to that chair, it had all sunk in. She wasn’t just having a fling with Ian and Trent. She was head over heels in love with both of them.
She didn’t want to move back to LA and her boring, comfortable life. She wanted to stay in Midnight Cove and wake up every morning wrapped up in their arms.
People would talk. She’d have to deal with the dirty looks and nasty comments and the jerks she’d run away from. It didn’t matter. This time she had something to fight for. Holly smiled. Two somethings to be exact.
Trent’s voice carried across the clearing. “If you’d gotten here sooner, I wouldn’t have had to shoot anyone! Your response time is shit!”
Holly shook her head. She knew he blamed himself for her injuries, but she didn’t. Trent saved her life. As soon as the cops left and they could go home, she’d show him. One kiss at a time.
Ian walked over and sat on the edge of the ambulance. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “How about you?”
“I’m fine. They took Ivy away. I put in a call to the DA’s office. She won’t be getting out anytime soon.”
Holly blinked. “You know the district attorney?”
Ian shrugged. “I know everyone. I used to, at least.” He ran a hand down his face. “The shipping business is so impersonal. I’m dealing with clients half a world away. When I worked restaurants full-time, I got to know everyone in town. Now—” He shifted on the bumper. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.” Holly leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder. “Thanks for rescuing me.”
“I’m sorry we even put you in this position. It’s all my fault.”
Holly sat up with a start. “It is not! First Trent and now you.” She twisted until she could look him in the eye. “You look here, Ian Knowles. Ivy would never have been able to pull this off by herself. Brandon wasn’t here because he loved her. He was here because he wanted me to suffer. It was as much about me as it was about you.”
“Still.”
“No! Stop it. Even if you find out Ivy was behind the emails, I’m sure once it gets all pieced together, we’ll find out they planned everything else. Brandon was never going to let it go.”
Holly pushed her hair off her face and continued. “If I hadn’t been so afraid to come back here…if I hadn’t been so angry at my mother…I’d never have gotten between him and any money. You have to know that. I’d have had the trustee give it all to him. I didn’t care.”
Ian reached out and wrapped his arm around her. He squeezed her gently. “I know you would have. You’re the only woman in Midnight Cove who holds it against me that I’m loaded.”
<
br /> Holly smiled. “Is it that obvious?”
The vibrations of Ian’s silent laugh shook Holly until she giggled. “Let’s just say I know you’re not into me for the money.”
“That’s true, I’m not.”
“Am I interrupting?” Trent walked up and Holly smiled. She’d gotten a chance to see him in his element—defending her and saving the day. He was so much more than private security. He was her hero.
She motioned to the police car and the officers standing beside it. “Are you finally done yelling at that poor policeman?”
“For now.”
“Are we free to go?”
Trent nodded. “They’ll want to talk to us again. But for tonight, we can go home.”
Holly exhaled in relief. She wanted to get off of that mountain and wash all the memories of that night off her skin. A hot shower would give her all the courage she needed to tell Ian and Trent exactly what she wanted the future to be. “I call dibs on the shower.”
Ian helped her off the bumper with a smirk. “I have seven, Holly. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
* * *
IAN
“You think she’s okay?”
Trent nursed a scotch as he perched on the edge of the couch. “Yeah. She’s tough, Ian.”
“I know. She’s way tougher than I ever gave her credit for.” He couldn’t believe how she’d managed to keep Brandon talking even after he’d punched her into last year. “If she hadn’t found a way to stay alive, I don’t know what I would have done.”
Trent glanced up. “We’d both be in jail right now and Brandon wouldn’t be the only one dead.”
Ian nodded. Trent was right. If they’d gotten there too late, Ivy wouldn’t be crying in a jail cell somewhere. She’d be lying next to Brandon in the morgue.
“I’m sorry I didn’t connect the dots sooner. I should have known Ivy was behind everything.”
Trent shook his head. “It’s not your fault. Neither one of us thought it was her. Hell, I trailed her for two days just to see if she could be the one. All she did was go to the spa and have brunch at some fish place on the water.”
