Wild Bastard: A Dark Sparrow Novel

by Kells, India

  And on that he disappeared from view.

  Despite what she had been told, her eyes went to Kai who remained silent. As Shelby came back with the maintenance guy, Kai only nodded and that faint sign from him helped her take one full breath and return to her office chair.

  As she feared, this was only the beginning.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kai could breathe better the moment Finch disappeared from his sight. For hours he’d stood outside Isabel’s office door, trying not to imagine that the worst was happening in there.

  He was well aware that they had to find a crack to bring Finch down, but there was no way he was doing this if it risked Isabel’s life or wellbeing.

  Another thing he discovered was how hard-working and dedicated Isabel Osborne was. He remained close, heard how she worked with Shelby and the insane amount of calls she made planning for Finch’s mayoral aspirations.

  He became her shadow the few times she ventured out of her office, and made sure, with Shelby’s help, that she ate and drank plenty of water without abusing coffee.

  The sun set over the city and the office slowly emptied out until the maintenance team made its way in. Isabel had worked almost nonstop and was clearly ready to continue when Kai decided to put an end to it.

  As she sat behind her desk, Kai saw dark circles under her eyes and immediately thought about the other bruises on her body. Unless she had taken more of her pain medication, focusing on her work must be difficult, and still she pushed on.

  “Miss Osbourne.” He was starting to get tired too, as he’d almost used her first name. Raising her head, he saw her blue eyes were unfocused, like she wasn’t sure where she was and why he was there.

  Blinking a few times, she looked around and rolled her shoulders, wincing. “Yes?”

  “Time’s up. The office is closing, and I called the car. I expect it in five minutes.”

  Again, more blinking before she checked her phone and turned back to her computer screen. “I have a few more things…”

  “That can be done tomorrow, Miss.” The way he put emphasis on the Miss was a clear indication that it wasn’t up for discussion.

  Annoyance showed on her face, but she closed her laptop, nonetheless. As she grabbed her bag, he noticed her feet.

  “What’s on your feet? Where are your shoes?”

  Isabel looked around and pointed to her high heels on the side of her desk. “There. At one point during the day, I ditched them but my feet were cold so Shelby lent me her ballet slippers.” She wiggled her toes into the soft shoes. “I bought them from her, and I don’t think I’ll ever take them off.”

  Kai refrained from joking, unsure if there were mics in her office, but he thought how her legs looked in her heels and intended to tell her his opinion on the matter for sure.

  Scanning the area, he looked at his watch to confirm it was way past 10 p.m. He had texted Lazarus earlier. He and Liam were to follow their car back to Isabel’s apartment in case they were able to see if Finch had assigned a team to her. Not that he would share that particular piece of information with Isabel, she had enough on her plate as it was.

  Going down in the elevator, Kai moved so he was the first out as the door opened. As per Aleksei’s rounds in the adjacent streets and buildings, he hadn’t seen anything in the daylight, but it didn’t mean someone wasn’t lurking after the sun had set. Lazarus’s plan wasn’t to let them know they had been detected.

  Out in the building’s lobby, Kai scanned what he could see of the street, where a town car waited. Leading Isabel to the sidewalk, he was glad that nobody was in sight, but as they approached the car, it drove away.

  Immediately he pulled Isabel behind him with the intention of returning inside, but there was movement from across the street. Three men came out of an alley walking in their direction, making it impossible to determine if a real threat was heading their way or if his imagination was playing tricks on him.

  It took a moment for Isabel to shake off her fatigue and realize that the situation had drastically changed.

  Kai grabbed her hand and started walking in the opposite direction. The area was quite deserted, which wasn’t working in their favor. He took out his phone and entered an emergency code to tell Lazarus and Liam that something was wrong.

  “What’s going on?” Her voice was steady, although a little breathless.

  “I’m not sure. The car left before we could get in, and three men appeared. Don’t turn around.”

  Kai didn’t have to check to know that the three individuals were still following them while keeping a steady distance. Kai knew he had two firearms on him and two blades, but with Isabel by his side he was dead set on protecting her, and it was foolish to think he could take them down alone without risk. The only other option was to evade them until his brothers arrived or they reached a secure location. At this time of night and with their current location, the chances of finding something close wasn’t good.

  If he remembered correctly, at their current speed, it would take them five minutes to reach the next busy street. The bad news was, their friends following them had picked up the pace.

  Kai’s grip tightened around her wrist. “Are you able to run?”

  Isabel answered in the same low voice. “Yeah. Thank goodness I don’t have my heels on.”

  “Be ready. I’ll tell you when.”

  Kai’s mind was going a thousand miles a minute, sifting through the map of the city. Praying he wasn’t mistaken, if they turned left, there were a couple of trees and two bus stops with large ad signs. They would have a chance of increasing the space between them and their pursuers.

  As soon as he saw the corner, he warned Isabel to get ready. He felt her tense, but her expression only showed stern determination.

  “Now.”

  They bolted into a breakneck sprint. At first, Kai thought he would have to slow his speed for Isabel, but was quickly the one having to keep up with her. One quick look back confirmed what he suspected. He hadn’t had the chance to confirm if they had drawn weapons, but still steered Isabel so signs and street benches were protecting them.

  Cars flowed through the street and maybe that was what prevented the men behind from firing.

  Isabel was nimble on her feet. Apart from strands of blond hair falling out of her traditional bun, and red on her cheeks, she was keeping up, but he had to quickly find an escape route. Cursing at Lazarus for taking his sweet time, he was about to tell Isabel to take a hard left when a car swerved and blocked their path, the front of the car partly crashing into a storefront’s concrete wall.

  He had a split second to step in front of Isabel and act as a shield with his gun out, pointed at the driver. He lowered his gun when he recognized Lazarus, relieved it wasn’t one of the guys chasing them.

  “Get in, quick!”

  Kai opened the back door and shoved Isabel inside as he heard a gun being fired. Engine roaring, Lazarus put the car in reverse, forcing Kai to hang on to the door before kicking his feet inside to close it.

  Another shot blew the window, spraying glass over them, as he tried his best to protect her with his body.

  More bullets hit the car as Lazarus sped away.

  “You can come up, we are safe.”

  Liam’s voice was tight as he looked back. “Are you guys okay?”

  Kai pushed himself away, his hands roaming over her body, hoping she was all right.

  Isabel finally sat, blowing her hair from her face. She shook her head until her eyes focused again, and she was the one touching him. “You were behind me, there were gunshots! Are you hurt?”

  He stopped her shaking hands by covering them over his chest. “I’m fine.”

  But she wasn’t satisfied and freed her hands to cup his face.

  Kai thought she would kiss him, but for the longest time she locked eyes with him before lowering her head and leaning back in her seat.

  All of him wanted to take her in his arms, but more pressing matters
needed his attention. Her safety was paramount.

  Liam turned back to look at him. “Did you recognize them? See their faces? Isabel?”

  Kai shook his head, as did Isabel. Lazarus turned at the next intersection and got out his cell phone. Three words later, he ended the call and took another turn, leading them north until the city buzzed to life again.

  Satisfied that Lazarus took multiple turns to avoid being followed, Kai realized where they were heading—Archer’s.

  Archer lived on the same street as Aleksei, and had converted a tall building that had a drive-in parking space. As expected, the garage door opened the moment they arrived and closed quickly behind them, but Kai was still in defensive mode.

  Gun out, he scanned the lit garage until he noticed Archer, hands in his pockets, by the elevators.

  “Where are we?” Isabel’s voice seemed so tiny. Her hand closed hard, squeezing him. They had to move as he feared she was going into shock.

  “This is my brother Archer’s building. It’s high security here, so you are safe.”

  Stoic, Isabel nodded and allowed him to help her out the car. Cradling her body against his, Kai made sure she didn’t look back at the damaged car, and moved her forward.

  Archer encompassed them with his usual glacial look and clenched his jaw. “Why wasn’t I informed about this little stunt of yours, Oz?”

  “Because it wasn’t a stunt, but a rescue mission.” Lazarus called from behind them with a snarly tone to his words.

  Archer melted a little for Isabel and offered his hand and a sincere smile. “Miss Osborne. I do remember you, but we’ve met in a very different setting.”

  Isabel came from under Kai’s arm and took his hand. “The Adler Planetarium. The launch of your company. I remember very well. A fabulous party where you disappeared very quickly.”

  Archer’s mouth quirked up even more. “Yeah, I was sidetracked. A turning point in my life, I assure you. Now, please come. We’ll all be more comfortable upstairs. Zoe is waiting for us.”

  Less than a minute later, they were welcomed to a warm living room by a smiling Zoe, who ignored the men and came to give Isabel a big hug. “How are you feeling?”

  Isabel looked paler than ever. “Okay. Shaky, but good. After a shower and some hard liquor, I should be able to think more clearly.”

  It was a show of strength and Kai didn’t like it. He hated to see her in that state, fighting to keep up a smiling façade for others and soldiering on.

  As Zoe was tugging at Isabel’s hand, Lazarus stepped in. “Sorry, but before we call it a night, you have to call Finch, Isabel. If he was the one that set the thugs after you, we need to make sure he still believes you trust him. If he didn’t, having him distracted by this new situation might work to our advantage.”

  Isabel sighed and nodded, taking her cell phone from her bag. The call was longer than Kai liked. Isabel explained the situation and what had happened. Surprisingly, she already had a reason why Finch shouldn’t call the cops as an investigation would be bad for his image so close to the official launch of his campaign. Again, she declined his offer of additional bodyguards and told him she would take care of her own safety from now on, including transportation, which was another good call. Finch didn’t know why the town car left them stranded on the street, but promised to investigate.

  Over and over again, he asked Isabel if she was all right and where she was. And over and over again, she told him that she would be there tomorrow as planned and that she was sleeping at a friend’s place. After a while, Finch finally accepted her reasons and explanations and ended the conversion, promising to see her first thing in the morning.

  It was only when the call was over that Isabel went to the sofa and sat. Her energy was low, and he knew Lazarus still had questions that needed answers. Zoe pushed a glass of dark liquor in her hand and Isabel quickly downed it.

  “I’m having Gabrielle work on getting as many camera feeds as possible along the road that you took. We’ll do our own investigation to discover who came after you.”

  “No more working past seven. That deserted street played against us. The more people there are around, the fewer risks there will be of an open attack of this sort.” Isabel may have had other ideas, but Kai was set on enforcing that rule, even if the woman snarled at him.

  Lazarus nodded at Kai, which added weight to his command, and prevented her from answering back. For now at least.

  Liam checked his phone. “Aleksei is on his way to your apartment with some of his friends. They will check out the area, see if anybody is waiting for you to get back. When the coast is clear, you can return there.”

  “You are very welcome to stay the night if you wish, Isabel. We have guest quarters one floor down. You’ll be comfortable and very well protected.” Archer had a talent of making a command sound like she was doing him a favor.

  Isabel searched his gaze. Kai thought he would see a stubborn determination to return home, but what he saw was vulnerability. She was looking to see what he was doing and if he would be staying with her.

  Kai went to her side and took her frigid hand in his. “Whatever you want to do, I’m sticking with you like glue. You had better get used to it.”

  His attempt at humor worked enough so she relaxed an inch. “I will need to return to my apartment in the morning to get a fresh change of clothes.”

  Archer nodded. “That is something I can take care of. No need to worry. Tell me what you need, and you’ll have everything here when you wake up.”

  Another grateful smile wavered on Isabel’s lips. Zoe came to crouch before her. “Why don’t I show you around?”

  Reluctantly, Isabel let go of Kai’s hand and followed Zoe. Kai watched the women go into the kitchen before disappearing down the hallway.

  “Do you think it’s Finch’s doing?”

  Archer’s question made Kai focus back on the present situation. “It seems strange to plan an attack on Isabel on her first day. Especially since he made a move on her this morning.”

  All the brothers came closer, but it was Lazarus who looked the more preoccupied with this revelation. “What do you mean?”

  Kai explained how after a loud bang, he opened the office door to see Finch holding Isabel in a tight embrace.

  “You have a hell of a lot of restraint, Kai. In your position, I would have barged in and knocked his nose from his face.” Liam was only half joking and Kai knew it.

  “I suspect Isabel was the one who knocked the tray down. She’s cunning enough to have found this escape, knowing I would check after hearing the noise.”

  “Thank heavens for smart women. What’s the plan now? I guess we have no choice but to send Isabel back if she wants to go.”

  Kai had no doubt she would do it. Isabel may be shaken now, but it was only a temporary state that would not affect her resolution. “My main priority is her safety. We need to increase her protection.”

  Lazarus agreed. “I’ve already contacted Sam. He will play chauffeur and extra bodyguard when needed. I’ll put a safety net in place with the remaining people, so we’ll have the widest coverage possible. There is a risk of being seen, but I prefer that than risking another attack from not being prepared.”

  “I will lend you my bulletproof car. Just change the plates and you’re free to go.” Archer went to get the keys.

  Kai looked at the hallway when he heard the women returning.

  Lazarus stepped closer. “Go take care of her, brother. And rest. I will brief you in the morning.”

  Kai felt more than saw Lazarus and Liam disappear from sight. Isabel had come back with a little more color on her cheeks, but still appeared drawn and tired. He knew tonight had been a very close call. Way too close. For the first time since he’d vowed to bring Finch down, he would go back on his word if it meant Isabel would stay safe. Unfortunately, he knew too well that it was only wishful thinking, and that once you set a foot into the wheel, there was only one way out, and that was by win
ning.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Isabel ran more hot water into the bath and still shivers ran across her skin. The cold was set deep in her bones. It was tempting to pour herself another glass of scotch, but more alcohol in her system would make her go into overdrive. Resolved to try scrubbing her skin again with Epsom salts in a futile attempt to warm up, the water fizzled around her, taking on a milky composition which was also due to the softly scented coconut oil that she had found in one of the cabinets. The radio was on in the background, deep house music acting as a meditational humming.

  As she debated between adding more water or simply crawling into the oven to warm up, someone rapped softly at the door.

  “Izzy? Just to let you know that Zoe brought something for you to sleep in.”

  She smiled at the red head’s kindness. There was an unmovable strength in her, but where her husband made her think of hardened steel, Zoe was like a river. Whatever the obstacle, she would always find a way and get what she wanted, and in her opinion, that was even more frightening than brute force. Another thing that astonished Isabel was how Zoe had taken the revelation about her previous career in stride. Curiosity had been the main reaction and it made her smile.

  “Izzy? Are you alright?” Kai’s voice was turning worried.

  “Sorry, yes. I’m okay. Zoe is sweet to lend me pajamas. Gimme a sec and I’ll be out.”

  “No problem, take your time.”

  Isabel pushed herself out and as she reached for a large towel and wrapped it around her body, her vision blurred and she started to see spots before her eyes. Disoriented for a moment, she tried to reach for the wall to regain her balance, but instead her hand hit a shelf and sent all the bottles and toiletries to the floor.

  Dots floated in front of her eyes, and all she could hear was her pounding heart until a hand touched her naked shoulder and she could finally see Kai through the fog.