by Jami Alden
Then her stomach bottomed out as he gave her a regretful smile and shook his head. “An interesting suggestion. Unfortunately, I cannot risk my livelihood working with those I cannot trust.”
Toni looked him dead in the eye, struggling to convey confidence she didn’t feel. She knew if she panicked Connors would feed off it like an animal. “I can be very loyal if the price is right.”
He smiled, thin lips stretching over capped white teeth. “You make me want to believe you.”
Toni felt her heart slow a fraction. She’d bought herself some time.
His smile disappeared. “Now show me how cooperative you can be.” His hand landed in the middle of her chest and he pushed her back on the bed.
Toni instinctively twisted under him, kicking and squirming as his hands tugged at the hem of her shirt. She forgot about the gun in his hand as she fought to escape the brutal fingers digging into her skin.
He reared up and backhanded her across the face. Stars exploded behind her eyes as his knuckles cracked across her cheekbone. He hit her again in an open-hand slap. Her lip throbbed and her mouth flooded with the metallic taste of blood.
Connors’s face was flushed red, a vein throbbing in his forehead. His hand closed around her neck and Toni felt panic rise as he slowly increased the pressure, cutting off her air by degrees as he brought the gun to rest in the middle of her forehead.
Without releasing his hold on her neck, he roughly kneed her legs apart. She almost threw up when she felt the unmistakable bulge of his erection against her inner thigh.
His breathing was labored, his voice laced with menace. “If you want to work for me, you must show your cooperation.” His fingers tightened around her throat and she felt the sting of tears as her vision grew dark around the edges.
“Okay,” she managed to rasp before she passed out.
His grip slackened enough for her to breathe freely, but he didn’t release her throat. The cold metal of the pistol still kissed her forehead. “Now take off your clothes and show me how cooperative you can be. Then we’ll talk about letting you live.”
Bile burned the back of her throat. Could she really lay back and let him rape her?
Even if she got on that boat, Ethan would be able to find her. And even if he didn’t, if she was alive there was a chance for escape.
How much time would giving in buy her? Enough?
Toni grasped the hem of her shirt with shaking fingers, her eyes scanning the room for anything that could be used as a weapon even as the pistol didn’t waver. There would be a moment of distraction once he got started. His guard would come down, at least in the moment of…oh God, she couldn’t go there. She just had to lay back, pretend it was happening to someone else and seize any opportunity to get away from Connors before he got her on that boat.
She didn’t so much as flinch when Connors palmed her roughly through the fabric of her jeans.
The bedside lamp would pack a good wallop. If she laid across the bed just so and waited for the opportunity—
Connors bit out a curse as his phone rang. Tears of relief stung her eyes when he released her to answer. She scrambled to pull down her shirt and balled herself into a corner of the bed, her entire body shuddering with revulsion.
“You are early.” Connors spoke briefly to someone on the other line, eyes narrowing on Toni as he hung up. “Pack up your computer. We will have plenty of time to pick up where we left off on board.”
CHAPTER 20
N INETY MINUTES AFTER he left Palo Alto, Ethan pulled into the parking lot of the Sea Cliff Inn. He took advantage of the lack of traffic and kept his eye on his radar detector as he tested the capacity of the BMW’s horsepower.
The hotel was nothing fancy, a shabby, two-story structure next to a small marina. The parking lot was lit by two streetlamps on either end, their light muted by the warm mist draping the light. There were only a handful of cars in the lot, including a Cobalt bearing a sticker from the rental car company where he’d dropped Toni earlier that afternoon.
He got out of his car, his jaw clenching as he wondered what the hell he was doing here. All the way up he’d been tempted to turn around. As the miles passed, his doubt grew. Connors was likely long gone, biding his time while he waited for the next opportunity. What were the chances he’d risk everything by going after Toni?
Paranoia had propelled him to the car, compelled him to drive nearly one hundred miles in the middle of the fucking night, all for a woman who was likely trying to get the hell away from him.
As he drove, arguing with himself about whether to turn around, he felt an unwilling kinship with his father. Was this how his father had felt all these years ago when Ethan’s mother had disappeared? The bone-deep need to deny the truth staring him in the face? Guilt came with the realization that, as much as he wanted to find Toni safe and alone, in a sick way he hoped she was kidnapped, because it meant she didn’t leave him.
Staring at Toni’s car in the thick silence of the parking lot, Ethan vowed to be more supportive of his father’s search, no matter how futile.
Now, to find Toni and get this over with. The tracking device allowed him to find locate the hotel, but not the exact room. He called her cell phone, shoulders tightening another notch when he got dumped straight to voice mail yet again. Her phone was still off.
Of course.
He approached the darkened lobby and knocked. Nothing. He pounded harder, peering in the glass to see if he’d managed to rouse a desk clerk.
Shit. Looked like he’d have to go door to door, or wait until morning until Toni came out to her car. Hell. He’d driven all this way, and if he had to wake a few people to find her, so be it.
He started across the parking lot when he heard a door open on the second floor. Through the milky light he could see the the figure of a tall woman emerging. He couldn’t make out her features, but every cell in his body knew it was Toni. His jaw tightened and he started forward, freezing when he saw a man appear immediately behind her, slightly shorter than Toni, with a wiry build.
The way he held her, one hand gripping her arm, the other nestled against her back, he knew Connors had a gun pressed to her back.
Fear gripped his guts like a cold fist, along with guilt for having the passing hope Connors had her. Seeing the woman he loved, held at gunpoint, nearly buckled his knees. He would let Toni rip out his heart and eat it in front of him, as long as he got her out of here.
He swallowed back his fear and tried not to think about what might have happened to her in that hotel room.
Ethan sank back into the shadows, measuring the distance, trying to figure out the best way to approach, to get Toni away from Connors. They were down the stairs now, Connors guiding her across the parking lot. If he stuck to the outside and moved fast, he could flank them, maybe tackle Connors from the side.
He cut right and started to move, ducking in between cars, thankful he’d slipped on running shoes that didn’t make much noise. He slipped his Beretta from his waistband and checked the clip, and heard the low rumble of a boat approaching.
Connors steered Toni down a small slope toward the Marina.
Through the fog he could see a pinprick of light, and a little gray Zodiac emerged through the fog, its way lit only by a handheld flashlight as it approached the dock.
Connors started moving faster, his grip on Toni’s arm never slackening as he pulled her to the boat. There were two men on the boat. If Connors got Toni on that Zodiac, he was fucked.
Christ, why hadn’t he brought backup, called the police? Even with Kara’s assurances Toni wouldn’t just take off, Ethan still hadn’t been convinced she was in danger. Anger pummeled him as he thought of all the hours he’d wasted, angry and seething, convinced she’d taken off. And now he might lose her because of it.
His gaze never wavering from Connors and Toni, he took out his phone, dialed 911, and set the phone on the ground. He couldn’t risk being heard, but the police would eventually track th
e open signal.
In the meantime, he had to keep Toni from getting on that boat.
He crept closer, cursing the dim light and fog that interfered with his visibility. Connors and Toni were halfway down the dock. A few more feet, and he was close enough to see the expression on Toni’s face.
Even in the dim light, he could see the swelling of her cheek and the skin purpling in a bruise. Her lip was swollen, a smear of blood at the corner. Anger roared through his veins. Goddamn bastard had hit her. Maybe worse. His hands started to shake, his guts curdling at the thought of what Connors might have done to her in the hours he’d had her.
Despite the terror Toni must be feeling, her face was carved in marble. But he could see her eyes darting around the parking lot, looking for any chance, any opportunity to make a run for it.
It was up to Ethan to make sure she had one.
He slowed his breathing, pushing back the anger that made his hands shake with the need to tear Connors apart with his bare hands. He needed to stay cool, keep his focus, not allow his anger or fear to interfere with what he needed to do.
Connors walked another two steps, into a puddle of light. This was it. Ethan wished Derek were here. Even though Ethan was a marksman in his own right, he’d feel a lot better if his brother the sniper were the one taking this shot.
And Ethan knew he had only one shot.
Bracing his legs in a wide stance, he lifted his Beretta and took careful aim.
“Connors!” he shouted.
The other man froze, startled, a nanosecond of distraction.
Toni hurled herself to the dock, giving Ethan the opening he needed.
Toni thought she was hallucinating when she heard Ethan’s voice burst through the dark. Then, almost in slow motion, she felt Connors freeze, felt the pressure of the gun ease a degree, and she threw herself to the damp wood of the dock.
Shots rang out in rapid succession, and she braced herself for impact.
Running footsteps, more shots, and the motor of the Zodiac roared to life.
Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her to her feet. She caught a glimpse of Connors, lying still on his back, a trickle of blood running from the corner of his slack mouth. A neat bullet hole pierced his forehead.
She ran, pounding down the dock, Ethan behind her, returning the fire of the men on the boat. She heard him curse and stumble.
“Don’t stop,” he yelled. They were almost to the parking lot.
They veered off into the darkness, and Toni heard the roar of the Zodiac engine as it sped off into the the mist.
Ethan slid to the ground, holding his leg. Blood stained his jeans, spreading from a wound in his left thigh.
“You’re hurt!” Toni said, her hands hovering above the wound. She needed something to apply pressure.
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice tight with pain. “It went straight through the muscle. All meat, no bone,” he said with a weak chuckle.
“There’s so much blood.”
“I’m better off than Connors.”
“You came after me,” she said, shuffling closer, falling into his chest when he pulled her close.
“At first I thought you left,” she could hear the tremor in his voice, feel the tremor in his lips as they pressed against her cheek. “I should have come sooner.”
She buried her face in his throat, breathing in his scent like oxygen, and slid her palm up his chest to rest over his heart, comforting herself with steady beat. “I wouldn’t have left like that. I was on my way to your place when Connors grabbed me.”
She could feel Ethan’s muscles tense as he pulled away slightly. “He hurt you,” he said, his mouth pulling tight. Toni winced as Ethan’s thumb grazed her throbbing cheekbone.
“It could have been a lot worse.” Toni said. She explained what Connors had wanted, how she’d bought herself time. “The boat showed up before he could…” Her throat seized in remembered horror.
“I want to kill him all over again for laying a hand on you.” His blue eyes shimmered with tears. “I waited too long to come after you, and I never would have forgiven myself if he had—”
She cut him off with a kiss, barely noticing the sting in her split lip as his arms crushed her to him and his mouth moved over hers. “I’m alive,” she said when she finally broke away. “That’s what matters. I knew I had to stay alive long enough for you to find me.” Sirens were approaching in the distance, and a few hotel patrons poked their heads out of their rooms, drawn by gunshots.
The first squad car pulled into the parking lot and screeched to a stop.
Ethan’s finger drifted to her chin and tipped her face up to meet his gaze. “It’s going to take us awhile to clear all this up, but I want you to know that I love you. Nothing’s going to change that. And if that means I have to commute to Seattle to be with you, I will. Whatever it takes.”
Toni felt the sting of tears. “I love you too, and I—”
But her assurances that she wasn’t going anywhere were cut off by a sharp order of, “Put your hands where I can see them.”
CHAPTER 21
“Y EAH, I’M SURE. Go ahead and list the apartment on craigslist,” Toni said to Megan. It was late the following afternoon, and Ethan was still asleep. After they’d cleared everything with the local police, he’d gone to the ER where they’d stitched him up.
Rather than stay in a hotel, Ethan had insisted on going home. Loaded up with pain pills, he’d slept as Toni drove his car back home, and barely managed to get in the house before collapsing again.
“You’re really sure?” Megan asked for the tenth time. “You’ve been talking about moving back here for a year, and suddenly you’re changing your plans because you think you’re in love?”
“I don’t think. I know,” Toni said. And she did, gut deep, where it counted. Yes, she was certifiable, taking a risk like this.
But Ethan had taken a bullet for her. The least she could do was have a little faith.
Ethan emerged from the hallway into the living room, looking tired and sleep-mussed and brutally sexy in his boxers and nothing else. His weight supported by aluminum crutches, a white bandage standing out starkly against the tan skin of his thigh, he thudded into the room and shot her a thigh-melting smile.
“Megan, I have to go,” she said and hung up.
“Megan?” he said, a dark brow arched, his expression guarded.
“Yeah,” she said, getting up from the couch and walking over to his side. She slid her hands around his waist and pressed a kiss into his bare chest. He held himself still, muscles tense as though bracing himself for a blow. “I told her I didn’t want the apartment.”
His tension eased and he let a crutch drop as he pulled her closer. “So you’re staying?”
“If the offer’s still good.”
The other crutch dropped and he cupped her face in his hands. “Offer’s always good.” He bent his head kissing her with such intensity and emotion, it left no room for doubt about how he felt. But just in case, he said, “I love you Toni. I’ll make you happy, I promise.”
“I love you too,” she murmured against his lips. “And we’ll make each other happy.”
Ethan had never felt anything more right, more perfect than this moment. Knowing she loved him, and no matter what happened, if she loved him half as much as he loved her, the odds were way in their favor.
“You better not break my heart,” she whispered in between wet, open-mouthed kisses.
“You better not break mine.” He said against her mouth, sinking his tongue into her mouth, drinking in her taste. “This is going to be great. You and me together. We’re going to be great.”
Their kisses got hotter, deeper, and the throb in his groin soon outmatched the throb in his wounded leg. His hand slid up under her shirt to squeeze and stroke her breasts. “I need you,” he whispered. “Need to be inside you.”
He felt her nipple peak against his fingers, heard the soft growly sound in the back of
her throat. She wanted him just as much. “Your leg,” she said, voice laced with regret. “We can’t—”
He released her mouth and gave her a gentle shove toward the bedroom. “We’ll manage.”
He retrieved his crutches and thumped down the hall after her. When he would have stripped off her shirt, she pushed him gently back onto the bed and said, “Uh-uh. If we’re doing this, you need to lay back and let me do all the work.”
His cock went ramrod stiff, and he groaned as Toni hooked her thumbs in the waistband of his boxers and dragged them down his hips. She pulled them carefully down his thighs, doing her best not to aggravate his injury.
He couldn’t stifle a hiss of pain as she inadvertently put pressure on the wound. She froze.
“Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” she said.
He grabbed her hand and pressed it against his dick. “Trust me, this hurts a lot worse.”
She gave a breathy laugh and rose to her feet. He almost came as she undressed in front of him, the afternoon light slanting off her smooth, pale skin, lean curves, endless legs.
All his, for as long as he wanted.
Forever sounded about right.
She knelt over him, her back arching, taking him all the way inside her tight, slick heat. Her hazel eyes sparkled down at him, open, happy, free of shadows.
On second thought, forever might not be long enough.
Don’t miss Jami Alden’s next book featuring the Gemini Men—here’s a sneak peek at KEPT, coming in May 2009 from Brava…
D EREK TAGGART. HIS name suited him. Hard and tough with plenty of sharp edges. He was beautiful in a way that reminded her of the harsh granite faces of the Grand Tetons. Rugged and chiseled, with great eyes, square jaw and cheekbones that stood out beneath his skin.
One look at him and she knew he wasn’t a guest at the lavish charity gala. Alyssa would have noticed him immediately if he’d been in the crowd. His size alone would have drawn her attention. He wasn’t merely tall, he was huge, towering over her, but from what she could tell it was all hard muscle. But it didn’t take a psychic to see he wasn’t part of this crowd, that he was here to work and he took his job very, very seriously.
