Danger and Desire: A Romantic Suspense Anthology

by Kimberly Kincaid

  “Hi, there.” The voice directly behind her—deep, male, and familiar—hit her awareness at the same time the touch of metal licked the back of her neck.

  She would never forget his voice. “Hudson,” she whispered.

  “Put your hands behind your back without making a sound,” he ordered. “I don’t want to kill your friend in the other room, but believe me, I will.”

  Nadine set the water glass down and put her hands behind her back. Should she yell? He secured her with a zip tie, pulling it tight enough to make her wince.

  “Nadine, we’ve got a problem,” Ray called out from the living room. “One of the tangoes is still on the loose. The guys are searching.”

  Hudson snickered as he grabbed Nadine’s arm, yanking her into place in front of him. Nadine wanted to scream, to warn Ray, but all she could feel was the gun against her temple.

  Ray’s footsteps grew louder. She was on her way to the kitchen. “Evidently, one of the bad guys killed his own men as a diversion and— Oh, I guess that would be you,” she finished as she saw Hudson using Nadine as a human shield.

  “Put down the gun,” he growled, “or I’ll shoot her.” He jabbed the gun against Nadine’s neck.

  Ray bent, one hand in the air, lowering her gun to the floor in front of her.

  “Now you’re going to talk into that earpiece of yours and tell the guys outside to come in.”

  Ray raised an eyebrow. “Not going to happen.”

  “You sure about that?” His fingers tightened around Nadine’s bicep until she whimpered, no matter how she fought against reacting. Hudson pressed the gun against her temple. “Do it, now.”

  “Fine.” Ray held her hand up to her ear, but Nadine realized right away it wasn’t the same ear she’d been using to communicate with the guys. She was tricking Hudson. “Ghost, Scout. We need some assistance in the kitchen. Thanks.”

  “Tie your hands.” Hudson tossed Ray a zip tie. She secured her wrists in place, teeth gritted the entire time. “Good girl.”

  “How did you manage to get in here?” Ray asked. Nadine noticed that Ray never took her eyes from him.

  “Your guys out there aren’t the only ones trained in warfare,” Hudson explained. “You have to make sacrifices if you want to get ahead.”

  Ray’s eyes narrowed. “Like killing your own men?”

  “I did what I had to do.”

  Ray let out a sigh. “Believe it or not, I respect that.”

  Nadine didn’t have any doubt Ray was trying to distract him. He was expecting the guys to come any minute and no doubt planned to shoot them.

  Ray probably had some sort of plan, but Nadine didn’t know what it was. But she knew she wasn’t going to sit here and keep being used as a human shield. She’d found out the hard way a year ago when she and Chloe had been kidnapped and tied up that her wrist could still be dislocated if she pressed it the right way—a byproduct of a fight with a bully when she was a kid.

  Though it hurt like hell, it was convenient when needed to get out of restraints.

  She’d been too late when she’d done it with Chloe. Too weak to make a difference in the situation.

  She wasn’t going to let that happen this time.

  “What do you want with the drive?” Ray asked, continuing the stalling. “Who are you working for?”

  “Don’t worry about that.”

  “We could pay you more,” she told him. “I have contacts willing to give top dollar. It doesn’t have to go down like this.”

  “Oh, it certainly does,” he crooned. His mouth was close to Nadine’s ear, making her skin crawl. “I intend to kill that son of a bitch boyfriend of yours, then I’ll have a good time with you. Payment for breaking my nose. This is personal.”

  Nadine focused on her wrist. One… two… three. Sweat broke out on her brow as she bit her tongue at the agony blistering through her wrist.

  Her wrist slid out of the restraints. She kept her hands behind her back.

  Ray’s eyes narrowed slightly. Did she understand? Even if she did, did it matter? Ray’s hands were restrained—not much help against a gun

  It would be up to Nadine to fight Hudson. But how? He was so much bigger than her, and she didn’t have her pepper spray.

  He focused his attention on Ray while he babbled about his Special Forces training. Blatantly bragging, since it was that training that had helped him get past Dorian and Wyatt.

  If she could manage a few solid punches, it might buy enough time for Ray to get to the gun on the floor. It was their only chance.

  She’d have to do it right the first time, since there wouldn’t be a second opportunity. She tried to signal Ray with her eyes, tilting her head, but she had no idea if the other woman understood.

  Which was why she used every ounce of her strength in slamming an elbow into Hudson’s gut, gritting her teeth at the pain that shot through her injured wrist. At the same time, she stomped on his instep—all moves learned from her classic self-defense training.

  But it didn’t quite work.

  “You bitch!” Hudson didn’t drop the gun, and Nadine screamed as he yanked her hair viciously, pulling her head back against him, putting the gun up to her head.

  This was it. Nadine squeezed her eyes tight; she couldn’t help it.

  Then… nothing. No gunfire, no pain. Just a big thump on the floor behind her.

  Nadine opened her eyes to find Hudson lying on the ground with a knife sticking out of his throat.

  Very dead.

  “Basic bad guy 101.” Ray stood over him at Nadine’s side, her hands free. “Never have someone tie themselves up, dumbass.” She turned to Nadine. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I… I—” She couldn’t pull any thoughts together. “Thank you.”

  Ray smiled. “We make a good team.”

  “Ray! Nadine!” Wyatt and Dorian burst into the house and rushed to the kitchen. They lowered their weapons as they sized up the situation in a few glances.

  “Got worried when you didn’t respond to our reports,” Dorian said.

  “Seems like you missed one,” Ray said. “We handled it.”

  Wyatt pulled Nadine against his chest. “You’re okay,” he whispered. Was he assuring her or himself? It didn’t matter.

  Dorian put an arm around Ray. “Hudson was a full-on psychopath,” he sighed, scrubbing a hand over his cheek as he looked down at the dead man. “When he found out we were only tranquilizing his guys, he killed them all and used our confusion as a distraction to get in here.”

  Cradling her injured wrist, Nadine pulled back from Wyatt and whispered to Ray, “You saved my life.”

  Ray shook her head. “No. You saved your own life. I could’ve killed him at any time, but I couldn’t take the risk of him getting a shot off on you first. Getting yourself free gave me the chance I needed.”

  Pride beamed in Wyatt’s eyes, and he reached over to kiss the top of her head. But then a curse flew from his lips when he saw her wrist jutting out at an angle that was definitely not natural.

  “What the hell happened? Did Hudson do that?”

  Why did Wyatt’s voice sound so far away? She shook her head to clear the cobwebs.

  “No, I dislocated it to get out of the zip tie. I did that when Chloe and I were trapped, but I was too late then, too weak.”

  Both Dorian and Ray were giving her sympathetic nods, but they seemed to sway on their feet.

  “I didn’t want to be too weak this time.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, you weren’t.” Wyatt was gentler with her now, helping her cradle her wrist while pressing a kiss against her forehead. “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

  “You said that to me already.” His brown eyes were all she could see.

  “Then how about… you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met and I’m in love with you.”

  She wanted to kiss him, wanted to tell him she felt the same. But the darkness that had been squeezing in on her vision for the p
ast few minutes wouldn’t let her go. Kept taking up more of her sight.

  “Oh no…” she said, then completely passed out.

  Chapter 14

  “All I’m saying is that the entire Linear Tactical team reenacted the scene.”

  Nadine closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh no.”

  Wyatt raised his gaze heavenward with a long-suffering sigh. “Oh yes. Gavin pretended to be me. Zac pretended to be you. Finn pretended to be Hudson lying on the ground with the knife sticking out of his throat, though he injected obnoxious comments every couple of minutes.”

  She couldn’t help her laugh. “I’m so sorry.”

  Wyatt deepened his voice, doing his impersonation of Gavin doing his impersonation of him. “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, and I’m in love with you.”

  His voice shot up three octaves, an impersonation of her. “Oh no.” Then he pretended to fall to the ground.

  She swatted at him, laughing. “I was saying ‘oh no’ to the passing out part, not the declaration of love part. They all know that.”

  “Believe me, my friends never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” He got up from the ground, then reached over and kissed her. “Say it again.”

  She didn’t have to ask what he meant. “I love you.”

  It had been a week since the attack at Dorian and Ray’s house. Nadine had spent that time putting her life back together as best she could, starting with getting her wrist reset at the hospital.

  Wyatt had been right by her side as they’d numbed and reset it. “You’ve had to do that twice now to get out of restraints. How about never again?”

  “That works fine for me. I bet David Thompson never knew he would save my life twice in the future when he broke it when we were kids.”

  Wyatt kissed the top of her head. “How about I find him, thank him, then kick his ass?”

  That would work fine for her, too.

  She’d bought a new laptop and worked for her clients using a lot of dictation software since her wrist had been in a splint for a few days. That she could do from Wyatt’s apartment in Oak Creek. The great thing about being a virtual assistant was that she could do it from anywhere.

  She’d also made a trip back to Idaho to see her house and possessions, or what had been left of them.

  Insurance would cover all of it, but everything would have to be replaced. The house would be rebuilt from the ground up.

  Wyatt had asked to report the fire as vandalism by an unknown assailant, not providing any information about Hudson. It was important to him that the police not be led to Ray and Dorian’s house in any way. Evidently, if there was any sort of official report that involved Dorian or Ray, they would have to leave the area permanently, for reasons it was safer for her not to know.

  Evidently, Dorian and Ray staying off the grid was more than a lifestyle choice… it was a necessity.

  Hudson and his buddies’ bodies would be found closer to their home turf. There were so many people who wanted to kill them, law enforcement would never think to look toward Linear Tactical.

  Nadine remembered the things Hudson had promised to do to her and Wyatt, remembered the feel of his gun against her temple, and had no problem staying quiet. Whatever reason Dorian and Ray had for keeping their silence, Nadine would honor that. She didn't need to know the details.

  When she’d explained that to Wyatt, he’d promptly laid her out on his kitchen table and canoodled her with his tongue until she screamed his name.

  Hell, she’d keep anybody's secrets anytime if that was her reward.

  The two of them had barely been able to keep their hands off each other in the past week. Making up for the year that they’d both wanted to do this—do all of it—but had been waiting for it to be the right time. She fell asleep in his arms every night and woke to his kisses and phrases of what he wanted to do to her.

  Before he did them to her.

  During the day, Wyatt tried to help Kendrick as best he could—evidently the Mosaic situation was much more complicated than anyone had expected. The guy they’d been talking about, Ian DeRose, had arrived in town and was causing quite a stir from what she understood.

  Nadine was still trying to work out all the dynamics of this giant family where almost nobody was related by blood. And they’d seemed to have included her in their circle. She was Wyatt’s, therefore, that made her part of them. Part of the family.

  For a girl who’d grown up without one, that was the most amazing feeling on Earth.

  Which was what was making this conversation so hard.

  “I have to go back to Idaho.”

  It was after dinner, and they’d just walked into town to get ice cream. She loved that it never once occurred to Wyatt that maybe a little less ice cream might be better for her figure.

  He narrowed his eyes at her as he took a lick of his mint chocolate chip cone. “Why?”

  “I need to get my life going in forward motion again. I need to find a builder.”

  It wasn’t that she wanted to leave, but it was time. She couldn’t keep staying in Wyatt’s studio apartment. She loved being with him, loved him, but that wasn’t a good space for both of them. Especially since she worked from home. It was crowded.

  Their relationship had definitely not formed the traditional way. She knew they were going to be together but she didn’t want to rush or force anything.

  “What if I knew a builder who would be perfect for you?”

  “You know builders in Idaho?”

  Another lick of the cone. “No, actually his contractor’s license is for Wyoming. I was thinking… what if you built here?”

  She stopped mid-bite of her fudge brownie cone. “Build here in Oak Creek?”

  “Actually, I own a couple of acres a few miles out of town. I was thinking we might design a place together. One that has a great office for you. I know you need your space.”

  She wasn’t exactly sure what he was asking her. Was he saying he wanted her to move here so they wouldn’t have to date long-distance? Was he saying he wanted them to move in together? Or was he only offering to help her design a place?

  “Would… would there be other rooms in this house?”

  He nodded. “A very large master bedroom, with a fireplace next to huge windows that have breathtaking views.”

  That still didn’t help her. Was she just going to have to ask him outright what this conversation meant for their relationship? “And other rooms? Would we need other rooms?”

  He gave her a lopsided grin. “Of course, silly. A kitchen, living room, dining room, bathrooms. Wouldn’t be much of a house without those.”

  She narrowed her eyes. He was messing with her, he had to be. But he hadn’t said anything that suggested they’d be in that house together. “Wyatt Highfield, what exactly are you saying to me?”

  “Here, hold this for a second.” He handed her his cone. “Don’t eat it or else I get some of yours.”

  He reached into his pocket and she felt sure he was going for his phone, about to show her plans for the house he was talking about. Living here would be good. She liked it here, it was—

  Her eyes bugged out as he got down on one knee in front of her, a ring held out, while she stood there holding two ice cream cones like an idiot.

  “I’m hoping we can plan at least two bedrooms in our house for the kids we’ll have. But we can always add on more if two kids aren’t enough. Marry me, Nadine. I’ve known you’re the one for me forever. I was just waiting for you to get here.”

  She couldn’t stop the smile that felt like it was going to split her face. “Yes. Yes, I love you, Wyatt.”

  Scattered applause broke out all around from people she hadn’t even realized were watching. Someone ran up and grabbed the cones from her.

  Wyatt slipped the ring on her finger, then stood, wrapping his arms around her hips and lifting her until they were face-to-face so he could kiss her.

  “I never would’ve li
ved it down if you passed out again, you know,” he said against her lips.

  She grinned. “You know it would’ve made a great story. They’d be acting it out for years.”

  “This time, we won’t let a good story get in the way of the truth. And the truth is, I want you with me every day for the rest of our lives.”

  She nodded and kissed him again. She’d found her home. Her family. Forever.

  Also by Janie Crouch

  Thank you for reading Scout. Are you new to the Linear Tactical series but want more? Start with CYCLONE.

  Zac Mackay. Military codename: Cyclone.

  He's the town's returned hero—a man forged in battle. And the person who could destroy Anne's life.

  Click HERE for Cyclone on Kindle (available in Kindle Unlimited!) and HERE for all other e-readers. (Or get it for free HERE when you subscribe to Janie’s newsletter)

  - OR -

  If you already love the Linear Tactical series, then you won’t want to miss the next book STORM!

  A terrorized single mom who needs a hero.

  A scarred former Special Forces soldier who will have to remember how to be one.

  Click HERE for Storm (Kindle and Kindle Unlimited only at this time)

  Lawson and Jill by Caitlyn O’Leary

  A Night Storm Legacy Novel, Book 1

  Can Love Heal Heartbreak?

  Sick and tired of being sick and tired, Lawson Thorne knows he needs help, but it’s difficult for a Marine Raider to admit. But seeing someone you love, someone so strong, break? Makes a man think hard about walking a different path.

  Jill Keiler knows heartache, up close and personal. She has closed in on herself, and she doesn’t know how to open up anymore. When she sees Law, she immediately knows he’s a kindred spirit.