Here Comes the Rainne Again

by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

  She studied him for a moment as if trying to decide if he was pulling her leg or not. It took her longer than he would have hoped. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Is now the best time for sarcasm?”

  She had a point. The oldest women in the group, the ones who should have known better, were in the bathroom turning condoms into water balloons to throw at guys with guns. Kirsty was practically sitting on Caroline to stop her from taking over the intercom and lecturing the intruders. At least she hadn’t noticed that the women had found her condom supply. Jena was working her way through the wine and cookies as she distracted Abby, who looked worried and kept patting her belly as if to reassure it. Julia was hiding in the bathroom, and Magenta was watching everyone with a sarcastic smile on her face.

  At least the captive was gagged. Joe really didn’t think he could stomach any more advice from the peanut gallery.

  “What’s the plan?” Megan said.

  Plan? Oh yeah, he was in charge. Fan-fucking-tastic. “The plan is to wait to be rescued.”

  The blonde put her hands on her hips. “That sucks. Is that all you can come up with? I thought Marines were well trained. I thought you guys could deal with anything. Plus you’re American—shouldn’t you blast your way out of trouble?”

  “How much TV do you watch, woman? These aren’t stuntmen. This isn’t a special effect. This is real life.”

  Megan let out a frustrated sigh. “I didn’t think being under siege would be so boring.”

  Joe blinked at her. The woman was beyond insane. She was in a whole new category. “I don’t have time to deal with your issues. We need to get this room properly secured. Get our guest off the bed. We need it for a barricade.”

  “What will I tie him to?”

  “Use your imagination.”

  Her eyes actually gleamed before she walked away. Joe shuddered. Grunt had definitely lucked out in the twin department. His one was marginally sane.

  “Listen up,” he called to the women, and was surprised when they gave him their attention. “We’re safe here for the moment, and I plan to keep it that way until Claire comes back with help. We need to reinforce the door barricade. The hinges are a weak point. We need to shore it up some more. No one can get through the walls; they’re two foot thick and solid stone. The chances of them scaling the exterior to get to us are slim.”

  “What about coming down from the roof and in through the windows? There’s nothing above this room, is there?” Ryan asked.

  Joe looked to Caroline. “Where’s the access to the roof above this room?”

  “There’s a metal ladder fixed to the exterior of that wall.” She pointed to one of the walls without a window. “If you go out the landing window on the third floor, you have access to the ladder and it will take you up to the roof above this room. I know we call this a tower, but really it’s only an elevated corner room. Access is easy.”

  Kirsty patted her hand as though to comfort her. “It looks like a tower to me, honey.”

  Caroline gave her a grateful smile. Joe wondered what dimension he’d fallen into when they were under attack but the homeowner was more upset that she didn’t have a proper tower.

  Joe brought her back to the problem. “Is there a chance they could get onto the roof, then come down and in through the windows?”

  Caroline nodded. “The snow would make it more difficult, but with the right equipment it wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “We need to barricade the windows,” Joe said.

  “No!” There was a chorus of protests as the women rushed out of the bathroom armed with water-filled condoms.

  “How are we supposed to water-bomb them if the windows are blocked?” Kirsty’s mother demanded.

  “You’re not,” Joe said, and a water balloon hit him squarely in the middle of his chest.

  Margaret covered her mouth with her hands. “Sorry,” she said through them. “Reflex reaction.”

  Joe looked down at his soaked Henley and asked himself if that really just happened.

  “Ooh, I just had a thought,” Jena said. “We should be filming this.” She dug around in her handbag and came out with her phone. She pointed the camera at him. “Do that again, Margaret. I’ll get it this time.”

  Joe stared at Jena before turning his attention back to Margaret.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “I won’t do it again.”

  “I need help with this guy’s legs,” Megan called from the bed. “He weighs a tonne.”

  “I’ll help,” shouted several women at once, and they all raced to the bed.

  Joe almost felt sorry for the guy.

  “Where are we taking him?” Shona said as they heaved the guy off the bed.

  Joe watched his captive’s shoulders shake and knew he was laughing. He also wasn’t struggling. The guy wasn’t even trying to escape or help his buddies outside. There was something seriously wrong about this whole situation.

  “We’re taking him into the bathroom,” Megan said. “I’m going to tie him up in the bath. That way when we need to pee, we pull the shower curtain shut for privacy.”

  “Good thinking,” her mother told her.

  They hauled the man into the bathroom, forcing Julia to come back into the bedroom, where she lurked beside the wardrobe and tried to blend with the wood. Jena tottered after the women, filming them as they carried the guy out of the room.

  “Why aren’t you more worried about this whole siege thing?” Shona asked Jena. “You seem really relaxed.”

  Jena shrugged. “I have to get rescued a lot. I’m used to it. Plus it wasn’t that long ago I was abducted and held at gunpoint by my ex. This seems kind of tame in comparison.”

  “Will you stop talking about being abducted?” Joe frowned at Jena. “You were never in any danger. We wouldn’t have allowed it. In fact, we got you out of there at the first sign of trouble. It wasn’t a real kidnapping. It was an unscheduled meeting.”

  “Says the guy who abducted me,” Jena said to Shona.

  Joe let out a growl before turning his attention to Ryan. “Help me lift the bed in front of the door. Then we’ll shut the windows; lock them and block them too.”

  “At least wait with the windows until we’ve run out of balloons,” Jean pleaded.

  Joe counted their stash. The women had less than a dozen water-filled condoms between them. He eyed the windows. No one was firing back at the women. Yeah, he knew it was crazy, but he couldn’t think of a reason not to let them finish.

  “Fine,” Joe said. “Have at it.”

  The women who’d helped carry the captive into the bathroom came rushing back into the room, eager to lob more balloons.

  “What exactly is their plan here?” Ryan said as he watched the women lob water balloons at the guys with guns. “At best, they’re just going to piss those guys off by soaking them.”

  “I think they’re hoping they’ll fall over and die of hypothermia,” Joe said.

  “Do any of them know how long it takes to die of hypothermia?”

  “I don’t think they care,” Joe said.

  “You know,” Ryan said, “when I was with the army, I never imagined this was how my life would turn out.”

  “No one could imagine this,” Joe muttered.

  Together they heaved the heavy wooden bed upright and wedged it against the door.

  As Joe got the bed into place, he felt a gentle tug at the sleeve of his shirt and looked down to find Julia beside him.

  “What is it?” he said with a smile, worried he’d scare her off.

  “You might want to do something about the dumb waiter.” She pointed to what Joe had thought was a built-in closet. “It’s big enough to fit a man and should probably be sealed.”

  Her face turned red as she scurried away.

  “You know something, Julia?” Joe said as he went to check out the dumb waiter. “You are the only woman in here I’d pick for my team.”

  Two more balloons hit him on the back. When he spun around
, lots of suspiciously innocent faces were looking elsewhere.

  “Are those condoms?” Caroline came off the sofa. “Our condoms? Those are private. You shouldn’t be touching private things. We shouldn’t even be talking about them!” Her face went beetroot red.

  “Take a nice, calming breath,” Kirsty said. “Don’t panic. Everyone in here knows you have sex. It isn’t a secret. After all, you are pregnant. And let’s face it, honey. You don’t really need them right now, do you? Might as well use them for something else.”

  “This is so embarrassing,” Caroline said.

  “No, it’s not,” Kirsty said. “In fact, everyone will have forgotten all about this by morning. Won’t you?” She glared at the women in the room.

  “Forget what?” Shona looked down at the water-filled condom in her hand and faked a gasp. “You mean these aren’t balloons?”

  Kirsty rolled her eyes. “Not helping.” She continued to soothe the mortified Caroline.

  Sopping wet, Joe yanked open the door to the dumb waiter and stopped dead. Caroline was about to become a whole lot more embarrassed. He really hoped she didn’t flake out on him. He had enough crazy to deal with already.

  “Uh, Caroline,” he said. “You want to come explain this?”

  There was a moment of silence, then every woman in the room rushed to his side.

  19

  * Rainne and Alastair *

  They were dressed. Their clothes were still damp, but warm from the heat of the fire, something Alastair knew wouldn’t last a second outside in the cold.

  “You know, I actually think the snow’s getting heavier.” Rainne turned back from where she was peeking out from behind the blinds.

  Alastair grunted as he rifled through the first-aid kit.

  “Do you need more painkillers?” Rainne said. “I’m sorry I prodded you. But if you’d listened to reason, I wouldn’t have had to.”

  “I’m looking for a lighter, or matches.”

  “And you think you’ll find them in the first-aid kit?”

  Rainne’s eyes went straight to the shelf with manuals and folders to the right of the fire. She walked over and pulled a box of matches out from beside the books.

  He found his eyes glued to the sway of her hips as she walked across the room. Those dark blue denims she wore cupped her curves like a second skin. Even teamed with a fluffy pink jumper and purple moon boots, she was still sexy as hell.

  He was a fool for letting these thoughts seep into his brain. An even bigger fool for letting himself notice her. But he couldn’t seem to help it. He put it down to close proximity—there was nowhere else to look. He had no choice but to notice the way her soft brown hair feathered around her oval face. Or the way her long lashes brushed her cheeks when she looked down. And those long, slender legs that ended in a round backside that would make any man salivate.

  What the hell was he doing? There were guys out there with guns and he was waxing lyrical about the backside of the woman who’d rejected him. He was an idiot. An idiot who shouldn’t have kissed her. One taste and his mind was filled with the memory of all that was Rainne. The taste of her skin on his tongue. The little gasps of pleasure she made when he touched her. It was all there now, front and centre in his brain. Along with the fragile hope in her voice when she’d asked for a second chance with him.

  Memory of that hopeful look and the soft declaration of love she’d made ate like acid at the hard wall around his heart. Three years ago he’d been the one to declare his love, only to have it thrown back in his face. This time, he’d done the same thing to her. And he didn’t like that feeling, not one bit.

  “There was a guy at one of the communes who kept his matches on the shelf beside the fire,” Rainne said, thankfully oblivious to his thoughts. She handed the box to him.

  Alastair emptied the box onto the desk, divided the amount in half and placed them into two separate plastic money bags he’d found in the drawer. He ripped the matchbox in two, stashing half with each lot of matches.

  “Take this. Put it somewhere safe.” He handed her one of the bags.

  “Why?” Her wide eyes blinked up at him.

  “In case we split up, we should both be able to set the petrol tanks on fire.”

  She licked her bottom lip. A nervous habit he doubted she even noticed. “We won’t split up. We’re doing this together.”

  “Right.” If he had his way, she’d be tied to the desk in the nice, warm, secure guardhouse. But no, she had to be a hero.

  He shook his head then instantly regretted it as it started to throb again. It wasn’t his problem if she wanted to go out into the snow and get shot at. He wasn’t her keeper. Still... He eyed the desk. If he wasn’t injured, he could have picked her up and put her where she was safe.

  He handed over strips of her kitten-covered undershirt, which she’d cut for them. “Tuck the strips into your coat. Keep them dry.”

  She did as she was told while he watched her every move. He nodded when she’d zipped the coat up tight.

  “When we get out there, communicating is going to be hard. We’ll use hand gestures.” He held up a fist. “This means stop and be silent.”

  She held up a fist to stop him. “Are you forgetting my brother is ex-military? I know every military hand signal there is, plus a few civilian ones I learned on demonstrations that are too rude to use.”

  “Don’t think you’ll need those ones, Rainbow.”

  Her answering smile made his mouth go dry. He cleared his throat. “Ready?”

  She nodded, but her face had paled. Stubborn woman. “This will work, won’t it? I mean, the bad guys will run out of the castle when they realise they’ve lost their vehicles, right?” She eyed the intercom panel. “Maybe we should tell the women what we’re doing so they don’t get scared?”

  “What if the bad guys overhear? We’d lose the element of surprise.” He brushed some stray hair from her cheek. “This will work, Rainbow. The distraction will buy some time until Lake gets here. And they’ll lose their transport.” He smiled. “That will make it harder to run away.”

  She looked so hopeful that it made him ache. He took a deep breath, feeling the answering pain in his chest. “I really think you should stay here. Where it’s safe.”

  “Don’t make me hurt you again, Alastair.”

  It was like being threatened by a bunny. A very stubborn bunny.

  He switched off the main beam of the flashlight, then turned on the faint, muted glow they’d use outside. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust. The first thing he noticed was the worried frown on Rainne’s face.

  “Take my hand.” His voice was gruff.

  When her fingers curled around his, he felt her shiver, and for a second he wished their gloves weren’t between them.

  “Hold on tight, Rainbow,” he said softly. “The flashlight is dim. We’ll only be able to see a little bit in front of ourselves, but it should be enough to get us to the castle.”

  He squeezed her hand to reassure her, then turned them both towards the door.

  “Be careful, Alastair,” Rainne said. “Please don’t get killed.” There was a pause. “I love you,” she whispered, so softly that he doubted he was meant to hear.

  Alastair stopped in his tracks and hung his head. His fingers flexed in hers. They were only words. She didn’t mean them. People who loved you didn’t leave you. An annoying voice in the back of his mind asked if she’d really left him, or had run from everything in general.

  “Alastair?” Rainne said from behind him.

  Oh, damn it to hell!

  He turned to face Rainne. The temptation to touch her, to taste her, was too much. He didn’t know what they were walking out into. He didn’t know if he’d ever get to touch her again. And that felt like a crime.

  “Don’t make anything of this,” he told Rainne.

  He slid his hand up her arm until he cupped her cheek. He heard her suck in some air. A tiny shudder under his fingertips. Alastair blame
d the memory of making love to her for his sudden, and persistent, need to touch and taste. She was in his head, under his skin, inside him. And the longer he was around her, the deeper she wormed herself into him.

  “This is not a big deal,” he said. “It’s just for luck.”

  “I don’t believe in luck anymore,” she whispered.

  “What do you believe in now?” He found himself entranced by the look in her eye.

  “Hope,” she said, summing up the very thing that had mesmerised him.

  Softly, slowly, he closed the distance between them. Her lips were satin. She fit him perfectly. A tiny moan escaped her throat as she pressed into him. Delicate hands grabbed his leather jacket and tugged him closer.

  What they planned to do was somewhere between dangerous and insanely stupid. If the bad guys didn’t get them, the blast from the snowmobile might. That’s if they didn’t freeze to death in the snow first. He needed one moment touching Rainne, in case it was their last.

  He slowed the kiss, until he gently pressed their lips together one last time. The cold was unbearable when he pulled back from her. Dazed eyes blinked up at him and he saw a flicker of hope in their depths.

  “This doesn’t mean anything.” He wasn’t entirely sure if the words were meant for her or for himself. Either way, they stuck in his throat like a lie.

  He tugged the scarf back up to cover her mouth.

  “Was that another mistake?” she whispered. “Or are we calling that kiss something else?” Her eyes went wide. “We’re not calling it goodbye, are we?”

  “No.” Alastair couldn’t trust himself to say anything more. Not when his thoughts and feelings were jumbled up in one huge, confusing mess.

  Alastair pulled open the door and a blast of freezing wind hit them hard.

  Heads down, they stepped out into the thick snow. Sharp, icy flakes nipped at their exposed skin. Their eyes watered from the blinding cold. The kind that went through you to the bone and melded there. Alastair turned to check on Rainne but could barely see her through the thick falling snow. The silence was disturbing, made ominous by their purpose and the danger that awaited them. Each step they took was laborious. It felt more like they were wading rather than walking.