by Lisa Childs
And if it wasn’t fear for her life, was it fear for her heart? Was she afraid that she was going to lose it to the man she was about to marry?
* * *
GOD, SHE IS BEAUTIFUL....
Parker had been told that Sharon was wearing his mother’s dress—the same dress that all the other Payne brides had worn. But his memory must have still been screwed up because he couldn’t remember ever seeing anyone else in that concoction of white lace and silk. It looked as if it had been made for her alone—for her long, slender body. But it fitted and highlighted the curves that the ugly tan suit had hid.
She walked alone down the aisle on which so many other brides had clutched the arm of a father or a brother. She had no one...but Ethan, who wriggled with excitement in his arms as he caught sight of the woman who had been more of a mother to him than his biological mother had. As she drew nearer, Parker forgot to breathe—until one of Ethan’s flailing arms caught him in the jaw.
Even with the veil covering her face, the little boy knew who she was—and he wanted to be in her arms. And Parker was surprised that the boy wasn’t the only one—Parker wanted her arms around him, too. But even more, he wanted to hold her—to keep her safe. He was so distracted by the sudden onslaught of wants and needs that the little boy managed to wriggle loose enough to lean toward Sharon.
As she lifted her arms to catch him, she nearly dropped the bouquet. But Nikki caught it before it hit the ground. Then, as she stood there with it clutched in her hands, Nikki’s eyes widened in horror and she shook her head. “This doesn’t count....” She slid back into the pew next to their mother, whispering, “This doesn’t count, Mom....”
Light laughter rippled around the church at his sister’s reaction. And usually Parker would have laughed the loudest before adding some additional comments. But he was too stunned by the beauty of his bride to be amused by anything.
But then Ethan tugged at Sharon’s veil. And he laughed at the little boy’s determination to get his hands in her hair. Parker reached out and lifted the veil over her face. It wasn’t the time. He was supposed to do that at the end of the ceremony—before he kissed her. But he couldn’t wait to see her face. And when he saw her face flushed with color, and her caramel-colored eyes sparkling, he couldn’t wait to kiss her.
But he resisted temptation—just as Ethan resisted letting go of the veil. Parker hadn’t anticipated playing tug-of-war with his son on his wedding day—just like he hadn’t anticipated his overwhelming desire for his bride.
“Be careful,” Sharon advised in a soft whisper.
She was probably worried about the lace. But Parker was worried about her. Even though he had always been open and honest about his inability to commit, he had broken a lot of hearts. He didn’t want to break hers. But she was looking at him—staring up at him—as if she was as fascinated with him as he was with her.
He had been unable to commit before because of his dangerous profession. But he had never been in as much danger as he was now and yet he was standing at an altar with this woman who held his son.
The minister cleared his throat and whispered, “Are we ready to begin?”
Parker managed to loosen Ethan’s grip on the lace. His hands skimmed Sharon’s bare shoulders as he pushed it behind her back. She shivered as if reacting to his touch, and her eyes darkened.
His stomach tightened with a desire more intense than he had ever felt before. He wanted his bride. He turned back to the minister and nodded. “We’re ready....”
And he repeated vows he had sworn he would never utter—vows all about loving and honoring and cherishing until being parted by death. Her voice trembling, Sharon repeated back those vows to him.
Death...
Could he protect her from it? Could he protect himself?
His mother had thought of everything because Logan was thrusting a ring at him, which he slid onto Sharon’s trembling finger. And then she produced one for him, which Ethan tried to grab from her hand. “No, little man,” she admonished him. “That’s not for you. You’d only put it in your mouth.”
Chuckles emanated throughout the church again at her comments as she evaded the baby’s attempt to grab the ring. Then she slid it onto Parker’s finger. His skin tingled from her touch. Hell, he tingled all over from just her nearness. She was so beautiful....
He wanted to touch more than her hands; he wanted to touch her all over. Finally, the minister said the words Parker had been impatiently waiting for. “You may kiss your bride....”
He leaned down over the child she held and pressed his lips to hers. Her breath caught audibly, but then she was kissing him back—her silky lips sliding over his. Her mouth opened—maybe for air—but he deepened the kiss, consuming her as desire overwhelmed him. She tasted so sweet, so fresh and pure.
As if she had never been kissed before...
He wanted to kiss her forever. But the minister was clearing his throat again. Then a small fist smacked his cheek, bringing him to his senses, just as the guests began to clap and cheer.
Heat climbed into his face with embarrassment that he had forgotten all about the guests. They were all family—either by blood or the bond of working together at Payne Protection. There had been no one invited who wasn’t related—who couldn’t be trusted. Well, the Kozminski brothers were there, but his mother and Logan trusted them now. And they were family—by marriage.
As well as his protection, he could give Sharon family. He doubted he could give her his heart, though. He hoped she didn’t expect it, that his kiss hadn’t given her the wrong idea. He had decided so long ago that he would never let himself love anyone and he doubted he could change now. But then again, he had gotten married....
His mother had gone all out despite his pleas that she not do that. Besides the dress and the ceremony and the rings, there was a reception. Food, cake, dancing...
He folded his arms around his bride, holding her close, while music played softly around them. His hips brushed hers and his body tensed, aching for her. He wanted to be alone with her, away from all the watchful eyes of his family, which was also hers now. But maybe it was better if he wasn’t alone with her....
She stared up at him, her eyes dark and dazed, as if she was as surprised and overwhelmed by her desire as he was by his. They definitely should not be alone.
But his mother walked up to them, a sleeping baby in her arms. “You two should leave now,” she said. “I will take care of him for the night.”
Sharon seemed startled at the thought, but Parker wasn’t sure if it was because she was panicked over being separated from the child or over being alone with her new groom. “But what if he wakes—”
“He’s going to have to get used to spending time with his grandma,” said his mother.
He should have known this was where her matchmaking was leading. She had wanted her kids married so she could get grandkids. Well, he’d already done his part, albeit unintentionally.
“Mom, I appreciate everything you did to make this seem like a real wedding, but—”
“It is a real wedding, sweetheart,” she said. And she patted his cheek with her open palm. “It is a real wedding. You have a license to prove it.”
So the wedding had been real, but the marriage wouldn’t be. He couldn’t let anyone hurt Sharon—not even him. “Mom—”
She smacked his cheek again—a little harder—and leaned in closer to him to whisper, “The marriage has to look real, too, so a court can’t challenge it.”
What was she asking him to do?
“Just leave together,” she suggested. Then she turned toward Sharon and patted her cheek, but gently. “You are as beautiful a bride as you are a person.”
Sharon’s face flushed at the compliment. But she shook her head, denying it.
But Parker realized his mother w
as right. Sharon’s beauty came from the inside out. If he was alone with her, he might be the one in trouble. But as his brothers had already learned, there was no arguing with his mother. Amid a shower of birdseed and glittering confetti, she ushered them out the doors to the front steps of the church.
Parker kept close to Sharon—not just because he was so drawn to her, but because he had already nearly been shot on these very steps. Logan had thought that those shots had been intended for him, but they had actually been meant to kill Parker.
“We set up a perimeter around the church,” Logan said. “Nobody could get near it. You’re safe here.”
“Maybe we should stay,” Sharon murmured, turning back toward the baby clutched in his mother’s arms. She started reaching back, but Parker clasped her hand in his and led her down the stairs. A car waited for them at the curb—someone had attached cans to the back bumper along with a sign that read Just Married.
Nikki stepped forward and pressed the keys into Parker’s hand. “It’s safe,” she assured him. “Cujo and I checked it out thoroughly.”
He pointed toward the cans and the sign. “I see that....”
She grinned and then reached up and kissed his cheek. “Be safe....”
She turned toward Sharon and kissed her cheek, as well. “Be careful....”
Parker helped his bride inside the car, making sure her dress was all in before he closed the door. Then as he ran around the front of the car to the driver’s side, more birdseed and confetti struck him—stinging his face. He laughed and ducked and slid behind the wheel. As he shut the door, more birdseed hit the window.
But his laughter died and his hand stilled as he slid the key into the ignition. Nikki had checked out the car, and he trusted her. But he wasn’t just trusting her with his life; he was also trusting her with the life of his new bride.
“It’s okay,” Sharon said. And she put her hand over his and turned the key.
The motor sputtered and then turned over, revving as he gave it gas. He uttered a sigh of relief. His family had kept them safe. He waved at them as he pulled away from the curb. To keep other cars away from the church, a big truck blocked the end of the street. It pulled forward as he neared, and Candace waved from the driver’s seat. Payne Protection had surrounded the perimeter. But once he passed her truck, he was on his own. He would have to make sure that they were not tailed. He wasn’t bringing Sharon back to the condo, though. He had found another place—a place nobody else knew about.
So he had to make extra certain that they weren’t followed. He had to stay focused on the mirrors, watching for cars. But his bride kept drawing his attention to the passenger’s seat. She was quiet, probably because she was scared. Maybe she didn’t trust him to protect her alone. Or maybe she was upset about leaving Ethan with his mother.
It was when he turned to assure her that everything was all right that he saw the black SUV. It wasn’t behind them. It was coming right at them—blowing through a stop sign to slam into the passenger’s side—into Sharon. The big SUV struck with such force that glass shattered and metal crunched and then the car spun, turning over and over—scattering those cans tied to the back of it across the road. Glass struck his face and metal smashed against his arm and his head. He fought to stay conscious.
But Sharon was not. Her eyes were closed and blood streaked down from a cut on her head. Was she unconscious or dead?
Glass crunched beneath shoes as someone rushed toward the car. He didn’t believe it was someone coming to his aid—it was someone coming to make sure he could collect that reward for a double murder.
Parker reached for his gun, but the seat belt, which held him in as the car landed upside down, was now also holding down his jacket so he couldn’t get to his holster. He had no way of defending himself and Sharon.
He may not have wanted to get married, but now that he had, he damn well wanted it to last more than a few short hours. And the whole purpose of marrying had been to protect his bride, not to get her killed. But it was probably already too late for him to save her.
Now he couldn’t save himself, either.
Chapter Twelve
Gunshots blasted, rousing Sharon from unconsciousness. The windshield now lay in pieces that were scattered on the pavement beneath the upside-down car. She sucked in a quick breath of panic. The car had turned over—and over—glass and air bags exploding while metal crunched.
Ethan! Had his child seat protected him?
No, no...
Ethan hadn’t been with them. Mrs. Payne had kept him for their honeymoon. How had she forgotten?
She must have hit her head. She lifted her fingers to it now and they came away sticky and stained with her blood. But the cut was the least of her concerns with someone shooting....
She had hesitated to turn toward Parker, terrified that he hadn’t survived the accident. But she turned now, as more shots rang out, and she realized that he was the one shooting. That he had drawn his weapon from his torn jacket, and, bleeding and pinned in the car, he was defending them.
“You’re awake,” he said with a ragged sigh of relief. But then he asked, “Are you all right?”
She replied with honesty. “I don’t know....”
“If you can move, you have to get out of your seat belt,” he said. “We have to get out of here.”
“How many are they?” she asked. She wasn’t naive enough to believe the SUV hitting them had been an accident—it had been another attempt on their lives. And since the accident hadn’t killed them...
So many gunshots rang out, ricocheting off the exposed undercarriage of Parker’s vehicle. Maybe it had been a blessing that they had landed upside down because it was harder for the men to fire bullets inside the vehicle.
Before Parker answered her question, he fired again, and a man’s body, dressed all in black, dropped to the pavement in front of the car. He joined another darkly clothed man already lying there in a pool of blood.
A scream burned in her throat, making her eyes water. But she held it in and tamped down the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. She had to be strong now.
So she steadied her trembling hands and reached for the seat belt. But the car door had crumpled against it despite the side air bag that had opened on her seat. If not for the air bag, she would have undoubtedly been crushed. She had to push her hand between the now deflated air bag and the jagged metal—wincing as the metal scraped her skin—before she found the mechanism and released her belt.
She dropped onto the roof of the car—which was littered with glass and blood. Whose blood? Just hers or Parker’s, too?
Like her, she noticed, he had a cut on his head. But he must not have lost consciousness as she had, or they would have already been dead.
“My seat belt is stuck,” Parker said. “You need to cut me loose.”
Fear and helplessness overwhelmed her again. “How?”
“I have a knife in my jacket pocket,” he said. “Can you reach it?”
She slid her hand inside his torn jacket. And as she did, he fired again. She flinched against the earsplitting noise. That was probably why he hadn’t wanted to fight with the belt himself—he was too busy defending her. So she found the knife. And careful to not slice him with the blade, she hacked at the belt until it shredded and tore and finally freed her groom.
With a grunt, he dropped to the roof of the car with her. Because there wasn’t much room in the crumpled space, their bodies touched everywhere. She waited for a rush of pain from all of her bumps and bruises and cuts, but she felt nothing but the heat of his body and the reassuring protection of his presence. With him—with her husband—she felt safe, no matter how much danger they faced.
“We have to get out of here,” he said again. “But we have to be careful. We don’t know how many are left....”
> Left? Two of them already lay on the ground in front of the car. Were they dead or just hurt?
She didn’t let herself care about their conditions. These were men who killed for money, who didn’t care that they would leave a child alone in the world just as she had been left alone.
“Stick close to me,” he ordered her as he crawled through the shattered windshield.
She moved to follow him, but the glass left in the frame caught the lace on her wedding gown—trapping her inside the wreckage. She couldn’t follow him. And he wouldn’t leave without her.
More shots rang out. Would Parker die defending her?
* * *
“JUST TEAR IT,” Parker yelled at her, as he kicked away the weapons of the men lying on the ground. Their cartridges were spent or he would have grabbed them to replace his gun. He was about to run out of ammunition. He was down to his last clip, and when that was empty, they would be helpless to defend themselves.
“I can’t rip it,” she protested as if horrified. “It’s your mother’s dress.”
The dress his mother had worn when she’d married his father. It should mean something to Parker, but he didn’t care about it as Sharon seemed to. He cared only about Sharon.
But then she was sliding onto the pavement with him. She had freed herself the same way she’d freed him. She had been knocked out. She was bleeding. But she’d rallied.
How had he ever thought that she was fragile? She was definitely the strongest woman he’d ever known—and he had known some damn strong women. He tugged her down beside him, where he crouched behind the wreckage of the SUV that had struck her side of his car. Three armed men had climbed out of the wreckage and he’d dealt with them.
Regret flashed through him that he had taken lives. But the men had left him no choice. They would have killed him and Sharon if he hadn’t killed them first. Ideally, he would have rather taken them alive, but he’d been trapped in his seat in an upside-down car. He wouldn’t have been able to fight them, to overpower them—especially when he’d been outnumbered. Even now, he had no idea if there were more....
