Protecting Kate: Dark Horse, Inc: Book 1

by Amy J. Hawthorn

  Even though the driver never faced the camera, he’d bet his truck it was Boyd Campbell. The man’s size and build looked familiar, and he’d always walked like he owned the ground he walked on, even when he didn’t.

  “Campbell.” Disgust laced Noah’s voice.

  “Yeah. We haven’t been able to get a clear look at the driver’s face, but we’re certain it’s him. Now, this is what happened ninety-three minutes ago.” Heavy, oppressive silence filled the room as the same SUV drove up the driveway at a much faster speed than previously. A second person, with dark hair just barely visible, slumped in the passenger side, as if sleeping with their head lolled back on the seat. “Every time he’s come by, he’s followed the same pattern and parked in front, just like on the prior video.” The SUV pulled around back and disappeared from view. The video sped by in fast-forward then it returned to its normal speed just in time for them to watch the SUV leave as quickly as it had come. He stayed less than two minutes.

  But now the “sleeping” passenger was no longer present.

  Son of bitch.

  “Damn it.” James punched the table.

  “Mother fucker.” The quiet, always calm Noah’s voice grated with tightly leashed anger.

  “When the fuck can we go in? If we don’t move soon, I’ll go alone,” Joe said.

  “As far as we can tell, Bailey’s help leaves at seven each night.” Rick tapped his fingertips on the table, still watching the video.

  “That’s why Campbell always shows late in the evening.” Trent wanted to throw something at the wall. Like pieces of a sick puzzle, things fell into place.

  “We think so, yes. Now, we don’t have any cameras on the south or west sides of the house. We only have a small portion of the east, but typically after seven the place goes quiet.”

  “So we go in at 7:30?”Joe asked the question they all wanted answered. He gripped the chair arms tight, poised as if ready to charge in at that very moment.

  “I know this is going to piss you off, but I think we wait until 0200 to go in.”

  “Fuck. Okay. It shits me to wait, but yeah. Okay.” Joe fisted his hands on the table before him and blew out a breath.

  Trent stayed silent, half afraid he’d lose his temper and do something stupid. Dread twisted and then coiled into a nauseating ball of worry.

  “Kate is strong and she’s damn smart. She knows we’ll come for her, no matter what.” Rick was right. Every word he said was true.

  “That’s over nine hours from now. Why wait so long?” Joe leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest as if he fought the same battle as Trent.

  And he realized that was likely true. Joe’s love for Kate was an altogether different type, but that didn’t make it any less powerful.

  “Because we’re going to plan this op down to the very second and we’re doing more than bringing Kate home. We’re going to clear Trent’s name while we’re at it. We’re not going to bring her home only to leave her watching over her shoulder every moment of every day. While I think she’s happy here on Trent’s farm, I’m sure she’d like to be able to come and go freely without worry or fear.”

  “Bailey and Campbell aren’t getting away with this.” Trent would die before he’d let that happen.

  “Fuck no.” Joe grated out and it was good to see that they were on the same page for at least one thing.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The sun had made its nightly disappearance hours ago. Shortly afterward, Rick finished going over his plan. Again. Simple in theory, everything depended on their timing.

  All Trent had to do was wait. The one thing he hated doing more than any other.

  Bonnie twitched her ears and nuzzled his hand. The little filly had grown so much since the first time he’d seen her. There was no question Kate had a way with animals. He’d scoffed at the idea that a beauty queen wouldn’t mind getting her hands dirty. In no time, she’d shown him wrong. Not only did she not mind getting them dirty, she seemed to find pleasure in the act of helping something beautiful come to life from nearly nothing.

  Her loving nature amazed him.

  He’d be lost if anything happened to her.

  “She looks a little lost without her momma. My sister took one look at that pitiful, scrawny little foal and knew that she was meant for Kate. Now look at her.” Joe stepped farther into the stable and took a place at the door to Bonnie’s stall. “My cousin has always loved horses. It’s horrible how relieved I was when Leigh called demanding to borrow my truck so she could pack Kate up and bring her home. I should feel bad for being happy that her first marriage failed, but none of us ever cared for Preston. Now, I’m hoping that she’ll finally find her happiness. No one I know deserves it more.” Joe turned his gaze from Bonnie to meet Trent’s head on.

  “If she’s happy with you, and you give her the freedom to be the woman she wants to be, then you have my blessing. I won’t stand in your way after she’s home. The only thing I want is for my family to be safe and happy.”

  “What about yourself?”

  “I don’t need anything as long as mine have everything they need.” Something in Joe’s tone belied his words, but every man was entitled to his secrets.

  “How’s Kylie? I hope she wasn’t too upset after I left.” He absolutely hated that her birthday party ended with him being put into handcuffs and stuffed into a patrol car while she watched.

  Joe’s smile became sincere. “She bounced back the next day. When I told her you were out of jail, she released a big sigh of relief. She wants to come out and see your horses. She likes my cattle okay, but I think she’ll be a horsewoman like our Kate.”

  “She’s welcome anytime. I have a few mild-mannered mares that are excellent with children. I have no doubt Kate would love to teach her how to ride.”

  “No doubt.” Joe quirked a partial smile, but it didn’t quite make it past one corner of his mouth.

  “Spit it out, MacDonald. What caused your about-face?” The man lived and breathed by his family and his badge. If he willingly left it behind, something was up.

  Trent turned from Bonnie to meet him eye-to-eye. After a long pause punctuated by a heavy sigh, Joe let it out. “I didn’t bring it up at the meeting because it’s nothing concrete and it doesn’t affect tonight’s plans.” Joe turned his gaze from Trent’s and back to Bonnie.

  “Go on.”

  “I went to my Sheriff with your suspicions about Bailey. I recounted each of the encounters Kate had with him. I expected that I’d get a vague and noncommittal response. You know, something along the lines of, ‘we have to tread carefully and can’t act without concrete evidence’ kind of lecture. Instead, he gave me a cold and brutal reprimand and, basically, he told me to mind my own business or else it would cost me my job. I don’t know if I caught him on a bad day, or if there is something going on, but my gut did not like the warning.”

  “Fuck me.” Trent rubbed Bonnie’s neck.

  “Yeah, exactly. I don’t think we’ll be getting much help from Potter County PD. I love my job, but it means nothing if it doesn’t have the power to protect my family.” Joe shook his head then turned to walk out.

  Kate lay awake in the dark of her room and stared up at the ceiling. She’d been forced to share an awkward dinner with Phillip Bailey while he calmly discussed measurements and wardrobe fittings. It had been like a dark and twisted caricature of her past.

  After he’d eaten, he showed her back to her room—at gunpoint, no less—told her a pleasant good night then locked her in. She’d resisted the urge to immediately rip apart the room. Someway, somehow she had to get free. She needed to know what happened to Trent and let Joe know that Bailey had someone watching Kylie.

  Rage and nausea flooded through her each time she remembered the pictures she’d seen. It was bad enough, sick and twisted enough, that Bailey thought he could kidnap her, hide her away and mold her into some sort of model Stepford wife. Using a child as leverage was ten times worse.

>   She’d concentrated on cooling her rage when she would have rather thrown something through the window. Minutes later, once she got herself under control, she’d tried lifting the chair in the corner of the room. She’d prefer to play it smart, but if push came to shove, she’d throw it through the fucking window and then run like the devil was on her heels. No doubt the glass was alarmed, but she couldn’t make a single assumption. The damn thing wouldn’t budge. It had been attached to the floor somehow. She tried the same with the accompanying table and got the same result.

  She’d thoroughly investigated the room and found nothing good and everything bad. Were there books with instructions on how to keep prisoners locked away in comfort? The windows, as beautiful and fragile as they appeared, were sealed shut. The bathroom had no window or way out. Everything was attached, stuck in place. Even the damn clothes hangers were attached in the closet, similar to what one would find in a hotel.

  How long had he planned this?

  Defeated and frustrated, she’d lain back on the bed and let her mind whir. Her brave, stubborn Trent. Her little, spitfire cousin. Joe would be beside himself with worry when he found out she’d been taken. What about the masked man who zapped and taken her? Would he back? She figured he was probably the bastard who’d killed Preston and framed Trent. Was he done with them, or did they have some other madness planned?

  Tears slid down her face as she closed her eyes and hoped with all her heart that Trent was okay.

  Startled, awake, she gasped when a large, rough hand covered her mouth. A dark shadow moved in close and whispered into her ear. “Shhh.” It was a quiet, low familiar purr that she knew well. Her body went lax with relief. “It’s me. We’ve come to get you out of here.”

  She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed in his scent. Dark fabric covered his face, and she wanted to rip it away to inspect him for injury. She’d hoped beyond hope that he hadn’t been wounded as badly as it had appeared, had nearly convinced herself of it, but the little demon of doubt had never released its hold.

  “I’m going to carry you. We want to make a silent exit and have everything mapped out. Just trust me. I’ve got you, no matter what comes. I’ll always have you.”

  “I know.” And she did.

  Their words were barely audible whispers, more breathed into one another than spoke aloud.

  “Up. Let’s go.” At his words, she stood and he hefted her into a fireman’s carry. It was awkward but she knew it was easiest on him and left him with one arm free if he needed to grab his gun.

  She sensed, rather than heard, another presence at the door. Trent exited it. She caught glimpses of shadowy men both in front and behind them as they fled the mansion like thieves in the night.

  In no time, they were outside and Trent was running across the yard. He stopped and she was practically thrown over the fence. She landed in another set of familiar arms. She looked up into a masked face, but she knew the voice that greeted her better than she knew her own.

  “Causing trouble again? Good to see you, brat.”

  She wrapped her arms around Joe. Of course, he’d be there.

  A soft thud sounded beside her and she turned see Trent had followed her over. Another masked man landed beside him and then a third. He touched something at his ear then nodded to everyone.

  Trent grabbed her hand and they ran through the night. At the property’s edge, they stopped just as a dark SUV pulled to the curb. Doors flew open and Trent shielded her as he all but shoved her inside. Doors shut and then they were off.

  “Joe!” She turned to her cousin. “He has someone watching Kylie. He showed me pictures of her playing at school.” Her words tumbled out in a fearful rush.

  If she hadn’t known him her entire life, loved him with all her heart, she would have run from him and the raw, primal fury that marked his features. His mouth formed a tight, grim line as he remained a silent deadly bomb, ready to explode at the barest upset. She ached to hold him, but feared tipping him over the edge.

  Scenery flew by, but she barely noticed as she turned to Trent. He pulled the black mask over his head just as she reached for it. Fabric rustled from every seat in the vehicle, but she only had eyes for him. She examined him as best she could in the dark. The light of a streetlamp passed over them with its pale glow. He pushed his sweat damp hair back from his face inadvertently making his wound visible. Almost three inches wide, it split the skin halfway between his hairline and his eyebrow. It’d looked as though it had been stitched haphazardly, but somehow it only seemed to add to his strength.

  “Not fair.” She whispered to him in the darkness.

  “What?” He looked utterly baffled.

  “Why is it when men get battle wounds it’s sexy, but for women, they’re just ugly scars? That’s not fair.”

  Giving her a cocky, one-sided grin, he tucked her into his side and looked her over. Solid. Caring. Gruff. Loving. He belonged to her.

  “Are you okay? Do you have any injuries we can’t attend to at home?”

  “No. I’m fine. Now. What about your head? He shot you. Are you sure—”

  “No hospital!” Three male voices said at the same time with a ferocity that startled her. Then Trent smiled as if that was somehow amusing and, when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close, everything was okay.

  “Kate? Baby?” She stood at the porch rail, watching the sunrise.

  Trent woke to find the sheets beside him empty and cold. Startled, he threw on jeans and all but ran out of the house. His heart had yet to settle, even after finding her safe on his front porch. He had no idea how long he stood in the doorway, watching her as she stared at the skyline. She wore nothing besides one of his tees, which came nearly to her knees. All that glorious hair, draped over her like a witch’s cloak. She’d wrapped her arms tight around herself.

  Irrationally, he’d feared that, like a beautiful apparition, she’d vanish if he broke the spell of dawn’s silence.

  “Hmmm.” It wasn’t much more than a low murmur as she kept her back to him. He scanned the fields for anything that might trap her attention so raptly, but there was nothing. Just acres of green fields and white fencing shrouded in a thick fog.

  “How long have you been out here?”

  “A while. I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Dreams?” It killed him that after the terror of being kidnapped victims were left to carry the ugly cross of nightmares and ever present memories that refused to let them live in peace.

  “No. No nightmares. Just no sleep.” Her quiet words made him want to wrap his hands around Bailey’s throat. He couldn’t stand her distance any longer. He went to her and pulled her back to his chest. He tucked the top of her head beneath his chin and savored the sensation of having her in his arms.

  “How much sleep have you had in the past two days?” There was no possible way she’d had much rest the night they rescued her and they’d been wakened only a few hours later by the guys’ return. The night before, she’d stayed up late while he and the guys were occupied with plans on how to trap Bailey and Campbell. The only thing they’d all agreed on was that the two bastards had to go down and go down quickly and permanently. Finally, after everyone left, he’d gone to bed and tucked her into him. He’d held her close, but her body had never lost its tension.

  “Not much.” He’d failed again in his care of her. He’d been so concerned with catching Bailey and Campbell that he’d neglected her. It wouldn’t do. She deserved so much more.

  “Let’s go.” There was only one way he could think of to get her to sleep. And it was no hardship on his part. There was no denying he’d desire her until the day he died. Maybe it was time he showed her exactly what she meant to him and see if he could chase the shadows from her eyes.

  He turned her to face him and saw her confusion. He lifted her, cradling her against his chest. Her weight was a soft, warm burden that he’d never again take for granted. Her hair, a curtain of sil
k, fell over his arm as one slender, toned arm reached up. Her hand found his neck, a thumb grazing over the pulse in his throat.

  The minutes she’d been gone felt like months and the hours turned into years of fear. He didn’t want one day to go by without her knowing how important she’d become to him. He…he loved her and she deserved to have that knowledge. He’d give her the words, though they’d never be enough.

  He carried her through the dark of his house to his bedroom. Their bedroom. She didn’t know it yet, but she was never again sleeping in another bed without him. He laid her out on the bed and cracked the curtain to let the morning light in, washing her in a silver glow.

  “Trent.” She reached for him.

  “No. Lie still. It’s my turn to take care of you.” He found the bottom of the shirt she wore and slid it up and off. A work of art, made of satin and gold curves, she looked up at him, with a curious expression on her face. What did she see when she looked at him?

  He ditched his jeans.

  “I’m fine. You don’t have—” He stole her words with his mouth as he parted her legs and got close. The sweet heat of her called to him now, urging him to sink inside and lose himself but he told himself no.

  Kate first. Always.

  Her thigh brushed his cock, teasing. She sighed softly into his kiss and his head spun in a drugged dance. He forced himself from her mouth and nipped her chin with his teeth, a punishment for her wicked lure. Licking a path down the line of her throat, he savored her taste.

  He took one breast in hand and the other into his mouth. Full and tipped with hardened brown nipples, he’d never seen a sexier sight. The buds tightened for him, pouting for equal attention.

  The hitch in her breath assured him she was right there with him. Her fingers tangled in the hair at his nape, a delicious tug. Her flesh warmed beneath him as she arched and wrapped her legs around his waist. The damp heat pressed against his lower belly, making him see stars.