by Burton, Mary
Shoving out a breath, she forced herself to inhale deeply. The shelter was only a block away now. She would tell her friend the truth about herself, listen to her words of wisdom and put her worries behind her. Yes, Sheridan would tell her she was being silly and not to worry.
Kristen refused to give in to fear or let her brother rob her of another moment’s happiness.
As she reached the next intersection, she noticed a man crossing the street toward her. He was wearing a Grateful Dead T-shirt, had bound his shoulder-length hair with a piece of rawhide and wore a gold looped earring in his left ear. He looked out of place.
The man smiled at her. “Excuse me, I think I’m lost.”
Kristen tightened her hold on her bag. “Really? Where are you headed?”
He stopped beside her, just a foot away. He stood over six feet and she had to tip her head back to meet his gaze. Dark glasses shaded his eyes. “The courthouse.”
She noted the large signet ring on his left index finger. “It’s three blocks to the north.”
“North? Is that left or right?” His grin was sheepish, charming.
She smiled and pointed toward a redbrick town-house that was under renovation. “Just head that way.”
He pulled off his glasses. “Thanks.”
When her gaze locked with his, her breath caught in her throat. She saw the eyes of the last man Antonio had killed. The old man who’d spit on her brother’s shoes.
Kristen felt dizzy and stepped back. Those last terrible moments in the warehouse crashed in around her. Her heart hammered in her chest.
The stranger’s eyes narrowed. “You okay?”
She nodded weakly. “I’m fine.” Every fear she’d tried to tuck away broke free. There were just too many coincidences today. “I’ve got to go.”
His body had tensed, but he made no move to stop her. “Have a nice day.”
She didn’t bother to answer as she started to run now to Sheridan’s. To her great relief the man didn’t follow. Ignoring the burn of unshed tears in her throat, she glanced from side to side and crossed the last intersection. Sheridan’s was only a block away.
She’d just stepped up on the curb when she heard, “Elena.”
For a moment, she thought what she’d heard had been a trick of the mind.
“Elena!”
She stopped and turned.
Antonio’s Mercedes was parked behind her. Standing beside the car was Manuel. He wore sunglasses, an expensive gray suit.
If he was here, then so was Benito.
She turned to run but collided with another tall, muscular, faceless man dressed in black. He grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her toward the car.
Antonio had found her.
Dane had followed Kristen when she’d left for the youth shelter.
She’d said she’d seen Manuel Ortiz and though he’d downplayed the incident, he knew she’d seen Benito’s right-hand man. She was scared.
But it was more than fear of her brother that ate at her. She didn’t trust him. Something had changed between them. Otherwise she wouldn’t have taken her knapsack.
Dane wanted to stay behind Kristen but knew if she saw him following, she’d bolt. So he’d called Lucian immediately and told him to keep an eye on her.
As he headed down a parallel side street toward the shelter, he heard a woman scream. He knew it was Kristen. His blood ran cold. Dane drew the .32 from his ankle holster and dashed down the alleyway toward her. When he reached Sheridan’s street he saw Lucian, gun drawn and pointed at a large gorilla of a man who held Kristen by her hair and poked a gun in her side. They were in the middle of the street and the man was dragging Kristen toward a black Mercedes.
Cold rage washed over Dane.
He wanted to fire at the goon but didn’t want to risk hitting Kristen.
She drew back her elbow and rammed it into the gorilla’s gut. The man grunted, yanked hard on her hair, making her scream again. She dug in her heels and tried to reach behind her head and scratch his hands.
Lucian raised his gun.
“Stop,” Dane ordered Lucian. “I don’t want her hurt.”
At the sound of Dane’s voice, Kristen’s head jerked toward him. Confusion, fear and anger crossed her tense features, as if her worst suspicion had been confirmed.
The gorilla tightened his hold on Kristen. “Stay out of this matter,” he shouted. “This is family business.”
Dane aimed his gun at the gorilla’s head. “Let her go.”
The man growled his anger. Another man got out of the Mercedes and shouted an order in Spanish. The gorilla started to drag Kristen toward the car.
Dane moved into the center of the street, his gun pointed at the man’s head. Lucian was to his right, his gun also pointed at the man. Dane knew if the man got Kristen in the car he might never see her again. He wasn’t thinking about catching Benito but of saving her.
He aimed for the man standing beside the Mercedes and fired.
The man by the car grabbed his chest and stumbled back against the car.
The gorilla was distracted for just a moment and looked back at his comrade. Dane fired again. This bullet flew dangerously close to Kristen’s face, striking the gorilla in the arm. The man stumbled back. The force of the shot was enough to make him relax his hold on Kristen. Taking advantage, she jerked free and stumbled away from the car.
Realizing she was out of his reach, the gorilla jumped in the car and slammed the door seconds before it sped off.
Lucian started to run after the car. He fired his gun at the back windshield. The bullets skidded off bulletproof glass.
“Let it go, Lucian,” Dane shouted. “Benito’s not in the car.”
At the mention of her brother’s name, Kristen stopped and looked up at Dane. Dark smudges of mascara darkened the skin under her eyes and her face was as pale as the moon. What tore at his gut, however, was the utter look of horror as she stared at him.
He reached out to her. “Let’s get out of here, Kristen.”
She stepped back, glancing at Lucian and then back at him. “How did you know my brother’s name?”
“This is not the place,” Dane said, reaching for her again.
She slapped his hand away. “I knew something was wrong but I didn’t want to believe it. You have cop eyes.”
He tried to take her hand. “I have your best interests at heart.”
She flinched and moved out of his reach. “Don’t touch me.”
Pain twisted his heart. He’d shattered Kristen’s fragile trust and for that he would never forgive himself. But what mattered most now was keeping Kristen safe. And in the open street, she was not safe.
He grabbed her by the arm. “We need to get out of here.”
Lucian reloaded his gun as he approached. “I don’t see anyone else now. But we’ve got to go.”
Kristen’s gaze darted between the two. “I’m not going anywhere with either of you.”
“It’s either me or your brother,” Dane said.
She backed away a step. “How do I know you don’t work for him? There is a hefty bounty on my head. Maybe you want to sell me to my brother and cheat Manuel out of the reward money.”
“This is not the place for this,” Lucian said through clenched teeth. He scanned the streets again for any sign of Benito’s men.
“Both of you can go to hell,” she said.
In the distance, Dane heard a police siren. Someone had seen what had happened or heard the shots fired. Dane knew Benito owned many on the police force. Kristen would not be safe with them. He was the only one that could save her now.
He holstered his gun and moving with lightning speed, shoved his shoulder into her belly. He picked her up as Lucian ran to his Suburban parked across the street and opened the back door.
Kristen pounded his back with her fists and kicked her feet into his stomach. “Leave me alone, you bastard. I’m not going back! I’m not going back to my brother! I would rather die
first.”
Dane dumped her in the back of the Suburban and shoved her to the center. She scrambled to the other door, tried the handle and discovered it was locked. Grim satisfaction burned in him as he closed the door behind him. She was safe.
Lucian slid behind the wheel and within seconds they were moving through the town’s streets and toward the mountain highway.
Kristen started to pound on the tinted window. “You can’t do this to me!”
Lucian kept his eyes on the road. He held the steering wheel in a white-knuckle grip. “The glass is shatter and soundproof.”
“It’s all right, Kristen,” Dane said. “We do not work for your brother.” Dane laid his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.
She flinched and slapped it away. “Don’t touch me!”
He curled his fingers as if burned and drew them away. “You’re only going to hurt yourself hitting the glass.”
His calmly spoken words didn’t reach her right away. But as seconds passed and her hands grew sore from hitting the glass, she stopped her struggles. Her eyes were full of rage and fear as she looked at him.
The rage he could handle, but not the fear. If he could have handled this any other way, he would have. “Let me explain.”
Tears streamed down her face. “You lied to me.”
“I had to.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say, ever again.”
Chapter 17
Kristen’s mind was numb as Lucian’s car sped down country roads. She didn’t bother to plead or beg for her release. One look at Dane’s stony face told her she’d be wasting her time.
How could she have been such a fool? How could she have believed that she could ever have a real life? As Antonio Benito’s sister, her existence would forever be different from everyone else’s.
She wished a thousand curses on Dane’s soul because he’d let her believe again in happy endings, something she was destined never to have. Her world would forever be dark, dangerous, loveless. Her heart shattered at the thought.
As the car drove down the street, she started to regroup. She’d become an expert at improvising. Pushing aside the pieces of her broken heart, she began to plan. She would not roll over and give up, not even for Dane Cambia. She was a survivor, she reminded herself. Happiness may not be her destiny but no matter what it took, she would get away from Dane and her brother.
When the car finally came to a stop, her body went on alert. There’d be no escaping while the car was moving but she had a slim chance of getting away now.
She tensed, ready to bolt at the first opportunity.
Dane wrapped long, strong fingers around her arm and pulled her toward him. “We’re at the safe house.”
Ignoring the softness in his voice, she didn’t resist his steel grip. “Where are we going?”
“Where I can protect you.”
She did not want his protection. She wanted nothing from him. But she kept those thoughts to herself and slid out his door. Bright sunlight had her wincing. She tossed a glance at Lucian, who seemed totally unconcerned about her anger and fear.
Kristen focused on Dane. “If you aren’t going to sell me to my brother then why am I here?”
“Inside,” Lucian said.
Inside. She glanced at the rugged cabin. At first glance it looked like any other mountain cabin, but a closer inspection revealed tinted windows and extra locks on the front door, which she suspected were reinforced. The place was a fortress.
Dane and Lucian had been planning this for a while, and the thought sent terror through her body. If they got her inside that cabin, she would be completely trapped. She glanced toward the door, not twenty feet away, and then cut her gaze to the right toward a stand of trees. The trees were a good one hundred feet away. But in the woods, she could hide.
Lucian moved ahead, pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.
She needed to throw Dane and Lucian off balance, make them hesitate so she could get away. “You lied to me. You made love to me. You betrayed me.”
The words hit their mark. A flicker of pain darkened Dane’s eyes. “I’ve got good reason. And when this is all over, I can only hope you understand why I did what I did.”
He’d dropped the southern accent. The soft jovial look in his face was gone, as well. She didn’t know him at all. “I will never understand what you did.”
He stared stonily at her for several long seconds. Then with grim resolve started to pull her toward the house. She let herself be taken the first few steps, expecting he’d lower his guard because he had her. She curled her fingers into a white-knuckled fist. She’d only have one shot so she needed to make it good.
She drew back her fist and punched Dane right in the eye.
The explosion of pain had him wincing and for a brief second, he slackened his hold on her arm. That’s all she needed.
She jerked her arm free and started to run.
“Damn,” he muttered.
She saw woods up ahead and sensed if she could make the stand of trees she had a chance of escaping. She heard Lucian shout, heard the thunder of Dane’s feet behind her.
Her heart slammed in her chest. The woods. Just get to the woods. There she could hide or get lost in the thick underbrush.
Footsteps pounded hard behind her. She could feel their vibration in the earth.
She was only feet from the first stand of trees when she felt his hands on her. He tackled her. At the last second, he twisted his body so that he absorbed the brunt of the fall. She landed on his chest. The wind whooshed out of her body and for a moment she was too stunned to move.
Her chance of escape had vanished.
She was trapped.
Something inside of her snapped.
“Let go of me!” She screamed and pounded on his chest. She’d make as much noise as her vocal cords could summon. “Help! Help!”
Dane captured her hands at her side. “No one can hear you, Kristen.”
Kristen fought Dane as if she were possessed.
Clenching her fist, she drove it into his ribs, letting years of anger and frustration ricochet through her body.
Dane grunted in pain and muttered an oath. As she drew up her knee ready to drive it into his groin, he rolled her on her back and captured her hands in his and pinned them to the ground. His body trapped her against the ground so that she couldn’t draw up her knees.
“Stop,” he hissed against her ear.
“Get off me!” Her voice cracked and it took everything in her not to cry. She’d never felt more betrayed. More alone.
Dane’s heart thundered hard and fast against her chest. His face was right above hers. “I can’t do that.”
She spit in his face.
Cursing, he jerked his body up and pulled her with him. As he wiped the spittle from his face, the raw intensity in his eyes took her breath away. Antonio had looked at other men like that and they had all died. But Dane kept his anger under tight control.
Provoking Dane was not productive and Kristen drew in a breath, forcing her anger deep inside her. It was a talent she’d mastered in Benito’s house—one that had enabled her to survive. And no matter what, she would find a way to survive this.
“Are you a cop?” she demanded.
“Yes.”
“Antonio has proven that he will never let me testify.”
Dane ground his teeth. “I’m not interested in going through the court system again.”
That brought her up short. “Then why all this?”
“Inside first.” His grip on her arm tightened.
As they approached the cabin’s front door her bravado waned. “Who are you?” she demanded.
Dane jerked the front door open and dragged her inside. She tripped over a small carpet by the front door and would have fallen if his grip hadn’t remained firm.
The interior of the cabin was dim. As her eyes adjusted from the bright sunlight, she could see th
at it was simply furnished with a crate-style couch and matching chairs, an empty coffee table and three end tables with cheap lights. No carpet adorned the floor and simple white pull-down shades covered the windows. There was a kitchen off to the right, doors that must lead to bedrooms or bathrooms. Practical and functional.
She heard movement coming from the kitchen and assumed it was the other man—the driver. What had Dane called him? Lucian.
“Sit down,” Dane ordered as he pulled her toward a chair.
“Tell me what you want. I am sick of games.”
Dane shoved her in the chair. “This is no game.”
“No bounty. No court. Why am I here?”
Lucian walked into the room. “You are the bait for the trap.”
Her gaze shifted from Dane to Lucian and back. “What trap?”
“We want Benito,” Dane said.
Kristen noted the clenched fists at Dane’s side—remembered how tenderly he’d stroked her hair with them. Agony squeezed her heart. “What do you want him for?”
“The Churchmen murders,” Lucian said.
Mention of the murders knocked the wind from her. The night of those vicious murders twisted her soul. The screams of the men filled her ears.
“My uncle was one of the men murdered that night,” Lucian said. Despite the stony look on his face, raw pain dripped from his words.
Kristen looked at Lucian. She remembered each of the faces of the men Antonio had murdered. They were imprinted on her soul. Now she understood why Lucian had the eyes of the last man murdered.
As she remembered the old man with pride and anger, the fight in her vanished. A sudden, unexpected tear escaped down her cheek. “Were you close to your uncle?”
Lucian understood. “He raised me like his own.”
“I am sorry,” she said.
The softly spoken words caught him off guard before he recovered his composure. “I don’t want your pity,” Lucian snapped. “You had the chance to put your brother away and you didn’t.”
