by Mia Dymond
“Seatbelt.”
He glanced in his rearview mirror and gave a slight nod when Ace flashed the lights of his truck. He then turned to look in the driver’s side view mirror, satisfied when Rebel did the same. Thunder took position in front of the line.
“Here’s how this works,” he told her as he jammed the key into the ignition and started the engine. “Thunder leads the pack, Ace is directly in front of us, and Rebel brings up the rear. As we approach the house, they drop off one by one until we’re safely parked in the driveway. You don’t move from that seat until I tell you to exit the vehicle. Any questions?”
She tilted her head to one side and he waited patiently, expecting her to offer a change of tactic. And he was ready – with a big fat no way in hell. The mission would go as planned or they would sit in the hospital parking lot all night – all eight of them.
“Just one,” she said in the silence.
“One,” he repeated.
“Where are my friends?”
“Sophie is with Rebel; Carley, with Ace; and Liv, with Thunder.”
“Why?”
“That’s two questions.”
“Why?”
He flashed his headlights at Thunder and then glanced into the rearview mirror again as he shifted into drive. He had to admit he was grossly relieved that even though she questioned him, her concerns were not about the ride home.
“Safety in numbers.”
He heard her soft sigh as he followed Thunder and pulled out onto the otherwise empty street.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Thanks to Alpha Four, I’m sure we raised more money tonight than we ever have.”
“You don’t know for sure?”
“Steven will take care of the numbers. He keeps the books for the organization.”
“Have you known him long?”
“Not really. Like I said, he’s only been on the board for the last two years.”
“Does he usually participate in the fundraiser?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
He shrugged. “He didn’t appear too comfortable in his bowtie.”
“You didn’t wear yours.”
“You noticed.”
“Kinda hard to miss,” she mumbled.
“And you liked what you saw.”
“Flirt.”
He chuckled as he stopped at a red light and moved his gaze from the signal long enough to glance at her and raise an eyebrow. “No one’s done that before?”
“No. In fact, the dinner is normally just a formality. Those donations are pretty well set in stone.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a party.” He eased his foot off the brake and pressed the accelerator as Thunder led the way through the intersection. “Until now.”
Her soft laugh traveled the length of his body and settled in his groin. “You’re exactly right. We’ll never be able to top tonight’s festivities without hiring professionals.”
“Maybe we’ll make a repeat performance.”
“Really? You’d help out again?”
“Why not?”
“Show–off.”
He grinned. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”
“Oh, geez,” she murmured.
“Seriously though, it’s for a good cause. We’re glad to help.”
He flashed his headlights as Thunder stopped at a stop sign and then turned left, leaving Ace’s truck as the lead vehicle. Rebel remained behind.
“The judge seemed to enjoy himself,” he said as he followed Ace.
“My father loved my mother dearly, but I’ve heard he’s always been quite the charmer.”
“Do you suppose he’ll ever re–marry?”
“No. He loved my mother too much. He’s told me numerous times he’s content with her memory.”
“He’s got you.”
“Yes. We’re very close.”
He slowed as Ace’s right turn signal blinked just before he left the caravan. Several feet down the road, Rebel pulled around them.
“Foster’s girlfriend didn’t appear to appreciate his lack of attention.”
“Really? I didn’t notice.”
“If looks could kill, he’d be six feet under.”
“James and Mary Anne are both very serious people. I don’t think they get out much. James tends to do it out of duty to my father.”
“What’s his story?”
“Rather boring, really. He actually has a law degree. In fact, he started out as Judge Abbott’s law clerk until my mother passed away. He then stepped in as the personal assistant. And he’s very good at it – he knows the judge inside and out.”
“How well does he know you?”
Rebel’s brake lights flashed three times just as he drove past Kat’s driveway. Chaos drove up the paved slab and parked just outside the front door.
“I guess he knows a lot about me, but only what my father tells him.”
“Would he have a reason to be jealous?”
“I don’t see why. My father treats him like one of the family.”
He turned his gaze on her and raised an eyebrow in a silent question.
“James did not threaten me,” she insisted. “Did you notice anyone suspicious tonight?”
He squeezed the steering wheel with both hands. “Not for lack of effort. The four of us worked the whole room several times.”
He lifted his gaze to peer out the windshield and scanned the short distance to the front door. The path appeared free and clear and he began to mentally prepare their movement until he spotted something out of place. Attached to the front door, he spotted what appeared to be a large, square piece of paper.
He took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, hoping that Kat hadn’t noticed it.
“What’s on the door?”
Hell. The woman was entirely too observant.
“Sit.” He unsnapped his seatbelt and reached for the door handle. “I’ll be right back.”
He paused only a second to ensure she would comply before he exited the vehicle. With long, sure steps he covered the distance to the door, his concentration interrupted by the sound of a slamming car door and the click–clack of shoes against the pavement. Against his better judgement, he allowed himself a quick look at the door. His blood ran cold through his veins as he stared directly into a photograph of Kat, a quarter–sized bullet hole right through her forehead.
He turned with his back to the door as she approached and crossed his arms over his chest. “We had a deal.”
“I was curious.”
“You really don’t need to see this.”
“Move.” He bit the side of his cheek when she attempted to push him to one side and then narrowed her eyes. “I mean it, Chaos, let me see.”
“On one condition.”
“What?”
“Don’t scream. We don’t need to alert the whole neighborhood.”
“Don’t you know me a little better than that?”
He had to give her credit, she was one of the strongest women he knew. Too strong, in some circumstances. Reluctantly, he stepped to one side so she could see the picture. As soon as her gaze landed on the photograph, he witnessed waves of panic cross her face and he wasn’t entirely sure she could keep up a façade of strength. Instead, she cleared her throat.
“Well, apparently I’ve had company.”
He reached for the doorknob and twisted, relieved to discover the house was still locked. He extended a hand, palm up, in a silent gesture for the key. As soon as he unlocked the knob, he was equally relieved to hear the security system ring.
Once inside the house, he punched her code into the keypad then grasped her elbow as he ripped off the picture from the front door, slammed the door closed, and then locked it.
“Come on.” He led her to the bar, helped her up on a barstool, and then tossed the photo in front of her. “Do you recognize this picture?”
“Yes. It was taken at my birthday party a few months
ago.”
“Any idea how someone could’ve copied it?”
“I posted it online.”
With an iron will, he resisted another reprimand – the one about how posting personal pictures online was obviously not entirely smart. Instead, he unsnapped his phone from the holder on his belt while she continued to stare at the photo.
“I’ve got activity,” he said into the mouthpiece. “Kat’s house.”
He disconnected with a softball the size of Texas stuck in his throat. Gee–jus, his heart hurt. He squeezed closed his eyes while he tapped the phone against his forehead, willing the gawd–awful, unforgiving past to stay the hell away and knowing damn well it wouldn’t.
“Are you convinced now that this is real, Melaina?” With practiced self–control, he gently swabbed the cuts on her forehead with a cotton ball, pissed off at the blood that continued to seep from her wounds. “These men will not rest until you’re dead.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Jace. It was an accident.”
“An accident?” Extreme rage and fear pushed him to press the cotton hard against an open wound. “You honestly believe it was an accident that your car slid off a cliff? Dammittohell! If I hadn’t been there–“
“But you were.” She grasped his wrist and lessened his touch. “You kept me safe.”
“I kept you alive.” He didn’t bother to sugarcoat his words. “This was no accident and don’t you forget it.”
She lowered his hand and laced their fingers. “You are shaking.”
“Hell yes, I’m shaking!” He took a deep breath in an effort to keep from blowing a gasket and cursed his vulnerability the whole time. “I almost lost you.”
For several seconds, she simply stared and he stared back, encouraged that now, maybe, just maybe, she would understand the severity of the situation.
For both their sakes.
“You will never lose me,” she said finally.
And as badly as he wanted to believe the sincerely of her words, reality would never let him forget what a bitch it was.
“Chaos?”
Kat stood next to Chaos and shook his arm with all her strength, concerned that he hadn’t said anything since he spoke to whoever had been on the other end of the phone. And it seemed the harder she shook him, it had less and less effect on him.
Finally, he lifted his head and opened his eyes. “Yeah?”
“Yeah?” Concern and worry quickly became anger. “Is that all you have to say? I’ve been trying to get your attention for the last couple minutes.”
“I was thinking.”
“Thinking.” She gave a sarcastic half laugh and sat down on the stool next to him. “Do you care to share? Some of us are wondering what the heck we’re going to do now.”
As soon as his gaze met hers, she could have sworn she heard flames crackling from the depths. Although his face remained devoid of emotion, there was no mistaking what he felt. She didn’t need clarification to know the man was severely angry and that thought made her tremble with the force of an earthquake.
He ran a hand over the top of his head and released a deep breath. “The most logical thing to do is hide you.”
“No.”
“You’re not being entirely reasonable.”
“Neither are you. Why should I hide? Why should I put my life on hold simply because some maniac wants to kill me?”
“Are you listening to yourself? We’re talking murder, Kat. Cold–blooded, unadulterated death.”
She swallowed hard, partly because she didn’t have an argument for his rationale but mostly because the truth behind his words shook her to the core.
“Look.” He placed a hand on her upper arm. “You don’t necessarily have to hide. We could just leave Everglade Springs until the threat is eradicated.”
“We?”
“Yes, we. I won’t leave you alone until I know with absolute certainty that you’re safe.”
“I don’t want to leave my father. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to him.”
“Your father is protected. Besides, if this prick wanted to take out the judge, he would’ve already attempted to. He knows it will hurt your father more if harm comes to you.”
For half a second, she wanted to cave – bury herself in the depths of his big, bulky arms and hide from the evil that threatened her. Who cared if she were weak? Who cared if this lunatic threatened her? She knew without a doubt that seclusion with Chaos would render her safe and sooner, rather than later, the maniac would be eliminated. Yet, as logical as the idea sounded, she refused to cower.
“You’re overreacting.”
“Oh, how I wish I was.”
“He’s desperate,” she insisted. “He left the photo because he couldn’t get to me.”
“Maybe.”
“I made you a promise, Chaos, and I intend to keep it.”
“The one about following instructions?”
“Yes.”
“That may not be enough.”
“It will.”
A shiver traveled up her spine and tickled the base of her neck in the deathly still silence that followed. Eyes very close to the same color as hers appeared to pin her in place, sending a subliminal warning not to press her luck. In another time, in another place, maybe she would consider issuing a warning of her own. But not now. Even her fiery tigress of a temper knew when to submit. Or negotiate.
“Chaos,” she said softly. “Please try to understand.”
“I understand, I really do, but it’s a helluva risk leaving you here after this. Your father will castrate me.”
“My father doesn’t have to know.”
“Thunder briefed him probably ninety seconds ago.”
“Oh, geez,” she groaned. “You guys don’t waste any time, do you?”
“No.”
His cell phone slid on the granite beside him as it rang and vibrated. Chaos lifted it to his ear, his gaze still locked firmly in hers until he finally spoke.
“We’ll meet you there.”
He pressed the button to disconnect the call and returned the phone to the case on his hip.
“The judge requests our presence.” He stood and gestured at the front door with one hand. “After you.”
Sitting next to Chaos in his truck once again, she took a deep breath and pushed apprehension to the side. She wasn’t too proud to admit that the picture had chilled her to the bone, but she had been deathly serious about refusing to give the lunatic power. She fully intended to live life as she knew it, albeit a little more carefully, and meet his threats head–on. If he were going to kill her, he’d just have to do it while looking her in the eye.
But he had to get around Chaos first.
She stole a glance at him in the darkened interior and suddenly an eerie calm fell over her. She knew without a doubt this man would do everything in his power to protect her; the warrior in him demanded success. Although he sat silent behind the steering wheel, she could almost bet his brain worked overtime in analysis.
She opened her mouth to break the silence and then closed it. Instinct told her now was not the time to open another discussion. Besides, her father was an expert mediator and a fair one. By the end of the night, they would all be on the same page.
She hoped.
She glanced out the front window, somewhat relieved to see that Chaos now negotiated the curves of the long driveway leading to her childhood home. She grinned. Home is where Dad is.
He stopped outside a tall, iron gate and lowered the driver’s window. The whirring noise that drifted inside told her that the electric eye was on duty.
After several seconds, the noise quieted and Chaos turned to her.
“Code?”
“061288.”
“Your birthday?”
She shrugged. “I’m a daddy’s girl.”
He punched in the code and then drove into the compound as soon as the gates opened. In mere seconds, he parked in front of the sprawling, colonial
, two–story house. As usual, every light in the house shined though the slits in the blinds that covered the windows, a tell–tale sign that the judge was in residence and very much awake. Spotlights accented every inch of the rich, green lawn. A sense of utter calm and peacefulness wrapped her like a warm blanket as she continued to stare at the structure. No matter how old you were, there was no place like home and as badly as she wanted to break free and run for the front door, she knew better than to move until Chaos gave permission – no sense baiting a hungry lion. Luckily, he wasted no time in leaving the vehicle and opening her door.
As soon as she stepped from the truck, his hand pressed the small of her back and urged her to the house. Thunder stood just inside the door when they entered, his bulky arms folded across his chest. She had to admit that in the company of both men, she felt extremely safe – not to mention, extremely small.
“Did you pick up a tail?”
“Negative.” Chaos closed the door as he answered Thunder’s question. “Are we last?”
“Everyone else is in the judge’s study.”
Pressure again at the same point on her back hinted at the need to move and one tiny part of her wanted to rebel. The discussion was closed, in her opinion; she simply needed to advise all of them of her decision.
Yet, respect for her father and these courageous, sinfully–handsome men dictated she at least let them think they could sway her. She mentally shifted her armor into place and led the way to the study.
Immediately, her father folded her into the depths of his arms and squeezed. Although she found herself short of oxygen, she did her best to wait him out.
“Dad,” she wheezed finally, “I’m fine.”
Fresh air rushed her lungs as he set her back and narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Chaos stepped forward and handed the dreaded photograph to her father. She almost groaned aloud. Leave it to him to prove her wrong.
“She’s doing well, Sir. All things considered.”
“No big deal,” she mumbled.
“Kate, this is serious!” The judge emphasized his point by waving the picture in front of her and she winced at his use of her given name, chalking it up to his anxiety.
“Yes, it is but Chaos is keeping me safe.”
