by Lora Leigh
Jordan heard the pain in her voice and once again fought the tearing at him, that urge to just do something to make her pain go away. It killed him to see or hear her pain.
Hell, she’d always had the power to do this to him. She forced him to feel emotions he didn’t know how to handle. She made him feel as though he were betraying both of them by being unable to what she made him feel when it rose tight and hard inside him as it did now.
“Tehya, the people who helped when you were young weren’t qualified to go up against Sorrel, and neither were you.” He braced his hands on the counter and forced himself not to touch her. “You were a child, not an adult, and it was no fault of yours. There was nothing you could do to change any of it.”
She turned her head away from him, her tongue peeking out to touch the point of her upper lip. Somber grief tightened her expression as she gave a little shrug, as though the explanations, the reasons why, really didn’t matter.
Her fingers raked through the heavy hair at the top of her head, causing those long, riotous curls to bounce around her shoulders, down her back and tempt his fingers. “It will never be over,” she whispered, her voice harsh. “He swore he would never release me, and even in death he’s managing to keep a hold on me.”
“It doesn’t matter how far you run, Tehya, or how hard you fight it, you’re going to have to realize the only hold Sorrel has on you is the one you’re allowing. I won’t let the past destroy you. And neither will your friends. But we need you to see, to believe we can do this together.”
She rubbed the back of her neck. She was irritated, frightened, and he was damned if he knew how to help.
The need to do something though, anything, to wipe that fear from her eyes clawed at the heart he didn’t know he still possessed until he met Tehya.
Her lips tightened as her dark green eyes seemed to glow in the frame of her pale face. That little spattering of freckles stood out in stark relief on her nose, clearly visible despite the tan that he knew covered her entire body.
“When Mother first escaped, she hid with me in a convent with Sister Mary, a friend she had known since she was young. She stayed only for a while, then left to make certain Father’s men hadn’t followed her. She called Sister Mary late one night, about three years later. Sister Mary pulled me from my bed and we ran. As we ran through the forest, I remember hearing gunshots. His men raped several of the sisters. The Reverend Mother had been tortured before they killed her. Horribly.”
He knew that. He had the file on the horrendous murders of the sisters at the Holy Blessings Convent.
“Sister Mary and I ran for several years,” she continued. “I saw Mother only rarely. Then one night we met with an ex-marine. Matthew Thomas.” She rubbed at her arms as though suddenly cold.
“Matthew slipped me into America, and I thought I would be safe with him. I thought he could defeat any monster, he was so strong. He and Mother had evidently had a relationship. I think they may have even loved each other.” She swallowed tightly her gaze stark with painful memories. “Several months later, Sister Mary’s body was found. She had died just after handing me over to Matthew. He and I both knew she would have told Sorrel who I was with, and where I was. She was so fragile, Jordan. So tiny.”
She stared back at him with those eyes so haunted it broke his heart. “When Matthew sent me to his friend Boyd in the Washington mountains, he told me he was going to take care of the problem once and for all. Then he would bring Mother to me, and we would be safe.” The pain in her face had his fingers aching to clench into fists. “Two months later Boyd pulled me out of bed in the middle of the night and we were on the run.” The first tear eased down her cheek. “Matthew’s body had been found. He had been skinned alive.”
Jordan couldn’t stand still another moment longer.
“Goddammit, I have the fucking files,” he bit out furiously as he took her in his arms and held her to him with an overwhelming need to take those painful memories out of her head. “I have the files, Tehya.”
“Then you know.” She sobbed, anger, fear, and desperation in her cries. “If these are Sorrel’s men, then you know what they are. You know what they’re capable of doing. Why, Jordan? Why won’t they let me go? Why won’t they leave me alone?”
His hands gripped her upper arms as he pulled back and stared down at her before lifting one hand to wipe the wetness from her cheek.
“Tehya, sweetheart,” he whispered. “We kept you hidden rather than taking care of this when we should have. Sorrel isn’t haunting you, but it’s obvious someone associated with him believes you have something they want. We’ll just have to figure out what that something is.”
It was the only thing that made sense.
She shook her head. “I didn’t take anything from the estate while I was there. I even left the clothes I had brought myself the night I was attacked there.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he promised her. Nine times out of ten it was something as simple as a file she may have seen, or some insignificant piece of information Sorrel had given her before the night he died.
For now though, all he could do was hold her. All he could do was comfort her and ache for the years of her life that had been stolen from her.
“I’m fine.” She gave a hard shake of her head as she pulled away from him and moved to the counter before turning to face him once again.
Letting her go wasn’t easy, but it was easier than seeing that pain in her eyes.
“You’ll be fine,” he promised her. “We’ll see to that, darlin’.”
Jordan saw the determination on her face, the pain, the belief that somehow she could protect herself, protect her heart, if she had just found a way to defeat Sorrel when she was younger.
“Will you?” she asked then, her expression closing on him, her gaze becoming shuttered. “Will it be better, Jordan? Or will the past steal the rest of my life?” She gave a hard, brief laugh. “I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t buy that puppy I wanted. This would be a hell of a life for a little dog, wouldn’t it, Jordan?”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “It’s just a puppy.” Her breathing hitched. “I can’t even have a fucking puppy.”
Before he could pull her to him again she swung away, her hand pressed to her mouth, more tears obviously following as she rushed to her room for a second time that day.
And hell, he hadn’t even known she wanted a puppy.
CHAPTER 6
The situation wasn’t going to change. Her friends were sticking by her side, and Tehya had to admit that knowing that she wasn’t facing this alone eased the tight, panicked pressure in her chest and lifted the fatalistic feeling that she may not live to see her next birthday. But the fear of losing someone else reopened the ragged wounds of the past.
The world wasn’t a pretty place, she thought, at least not for her. Her life had been an endless battle and each day of freedom had been paid for with the blood of others.
Now, as day faded to night and she sat at the computer completing the last of the payroll checks that would go out on Monday, Tehya realized that the distant thought of escaping and running alone wasn’t a course she could take, either. The time for running was over, just as she had told him when he first arrived.
Her life had been a series of paths leading here, to whatever battle fate had planned for her.
Shutting down the accounting program, she gathered the checks and tucked them into their individual envelopes. Penning the final name, she stared down at it silently.
Journey Taite.
She sighed, sliding a finger over the letters.
Journey had somehow broken with tradition and had managed to escape notice as she found herself a job. Taite daughters didn’t work. Francine Taite had once stated that fondly. It was a tradition. Taite daughters were protected from the world at all costs. The youngest of Craig Taite’s daughters, Stephen Taite’s granddaughter, was evidently determined not to be protected.
They were
second cousins and Journey had no idea Tehya even existed. But Tehya had known about Journey. The moment the other girl had arrived in America Tehya had known, and she had made it a point to watch out for the younger girl, even from Texas.
When Tehya had left to find another home, she had found herself in Hagerstown, close enough to ensure a chance meeting. And because of Journey, Tehya had found herself watching the bar she was so fond of now.
Had she endangered the other girl as well? God, she prayed she hadn’t.
And then there was Jordan.
He was on the couch in the living room working silently, not even a shuffle of paper to betray his presence. However, she knew he was there, and she knew she would have to deal with what he had said earlier.
She hadn’t even wanted to know what the plan was after returning to the house. But now, hours later, she found herself wondering about it despite her best efforts to remain unaffected.
She straightened the envelopes before turning and tucking them into the leather briefcase sitting on the floor by the desk. Her employees would be waiting for their checks when she arrived.
There were a dozen employees, fewer than she needed, but she had wanted to wait before adding to the business. She was glad she had. Fewer to suspect, fewer to worry about protecting.
“What do I do about my company?” she asked quietly as she rose from her desk.
Jordan looked up from his laptop, his intense blue eyes lasering in on her.
His brow lifted mockingly. “Are you ready to listen now?”
She deserved the comment. She had cut him off each time he had tried to discuss the situation with her.
“You know, Tehya, you surprised me.” Disappointment laced his voice. “We’re here for you. The entire team came the second they learned you were in danger and each member of the backup team has offered their help. And you don’t even want to hear how we’re going to keep you alive.”
There was a thread of anger in his tone, and she couldn’t blame him.
“Does it matter now?” Finally, she sighed and walked over to the recliner facing the couch. “I’m ready to deal with it now Jordan. I wasn’t capable of accepting it earlier.” She rubbed roughly at her face as the weariness made her feel weak, almost too tired to face this discussion. “Perhaps, Jordan, just once in my entire life, I wanted to believe I was safe. I wanted a home, a life. Perhaps a cat or a dog.” Weary acceptance filled her at that realization. She’d wanted a pet. “How pathetic is that? I’ve never had a pet.”
“Understandable.” Despite the sympathy, his voice hardened. “Now we have to fix it so you can have one. But I can’t do it without help.”
Her shoulders bunched defensively. “What more can I do, Jordan? I won’t run again. I’ll do whatever is needed, just as I always have.”
This was the commander of the Elite Ops. Hard, cool, so damned logical he could have been a damned robot as he stared back at her.
“We need to consider the determination this shadow has shown since Sorrel’s death. The occasional searches, and the obvious interest in your death that we set up. I happen to be someone who knew why you were so important to Sorrel.”
“Then they would know more than I do.” She sniffed. “And that would mean it would be someone close to Sorrel, Perhaps another son? A brother? Because he trusted very few people.” Though as far as she knew her father hadn’t had family. “He was rumored to be an only child. When he died, no one came forward to claim the estate.”
“Because he left that estate to his son and his daughter,” he reminded her. “You and Raven. With his son dead, that only left you. Coming forward would do no one any good at this point since the French government confiscated the estate as recompense against Sorrel’s victims. But that doesn’t cancel out the revenge angle against for his death.”
That was what she was scared of, though she had assumed a former associate rather than a family member. “But no matter which, how do we draw them out?”
His lips tightened in frustration. “You won’t like it, but I want you to promise to hear me out.”
She nodded and said, “Okay, but before you dive in, keep in mind that I’ll also need to know what to do with my company. My employees can’t afford to be without work, Jordan, and I don’t want to lay them off or suspend business.”
“The company is easy,” he assured her. “Tomorrow, you’ll give the information needed to Clint and Morganna when they arrive. They’re flying in tonight from Atlanta. They’ll be here by dawn. They’ll take over for you until this is over, while supporting the rumor that you’re considering selling the company.” He lifted his hand as she started to speak. “This will keep anyone from targeting the company or your employees. Their covers are simple. They’re coming in as themselves, and we’ll have no contact with them after the initial meeting. Once this is over, then you can return and simply say you changed your mind about selling. The employees may be concerned, but I believe they’ll handle it okay if Clint and Morganna promise no one will be fired because of the sell.”
Her lips tightened as she gave a quiet nod. She didn’t like it, but he was right. If the person or persons behind Arthur and Tenneyson were the same as in France, or worse, someone fanatically dedicated to Sorrel’s memory and his cause, then they would target the business and her employees if they thought it meant anything to her.
“Is that the only part I won’t like?” She had a feeling it wasn’t.
“No, it isn’t.” He sat forward, his gaze meeting hers, locking with hers, and she felt that familiar heat curling in her lower belly.
“Then what is it?” she asked shortly. “Go ahead, Jordan, strip me to the bone quickly, don’t draw it out.”
His lips almost quirked into a smile before his expression stilled.
“We’re going to use the Taite family to draw them in, Tehya. It’s time for you to face your family.”
She jumped to her feet, astonished fury erupting through her. “The hell it is.”
Jordan came to his feet slowly. “You know, Tehya, this temper of yours could get you into trouble, sweetheart,” he warned her with an air of forced patience.
“Go to hell, Jordan!” she snapped, her fingers raking through her hair as she fought to make sense of this supposed plan of his. “What the hell makes you think I’m going to face them simply because you dictate it, when I haven’t done so in all these years? Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m the man trying to save your pretty ass,” he bit out furiously. He jerked her into his arms.
“I will not allow you to sacrifice my family,” she raged bitterly. She couldn’t believe he would suggest such a thing. That he would even believe she would consider it.
“By God, I will sacrifice Stephen Taite, his son, and a hundred more like them to protect you!” Savage determination hardened his expression. “Don’t doubt that for a fucking minute, Tehya. No one, but fucking no one, matters as much to me as you and your safety.”
His anger barely registered. All she could feel was her own, her complete rejection of ever revealing herself to her family.
Even her mother had refused to go to them. Despite their wealth and power, decades after her abduction her mother had vehemently opposed contacting them anytime it was suggested. Until Boyd had been killed. Then, she had contacted her parents, and she had paid for it with her life and with theirs. Tehya vowed she wouldn’t make the same mistake.
Now Tehya would not go to them, and she wouldn’t have them pulled into her battle.
“Too late, Tehya,” he told her, his tone harsh, the cool logic lost as his eyes flamed with blue fire. “You can go along with it or we’ll go on to the next plan. Anonymously informing both Stephen Taite, as well as the press, of your existence and your whereabouts. Now we can fight this battle privately or, by God, we can do it publicly. Take your damned pick.”
He was furious.
Tehya had never seen him so angry, his eyes glittering with fiery emotion. But
she couldn’t remember the last time she had been so pissed off, either.
Rage bit into her, fueling the aggression rising inside her.
“How dare you barge into my life and think you can make such autocratic decisions where I’m concerned! You are not my father and you’re not my husband, so you can fucking back off.”
“But I am your damned lover now and I won’t back down. I didn’t back down for Sorrel and I won’t back down for whoever the hell thinks they can continue to torture you. And I sure as hell won’t back down for you.”
Her lips parted to rage at him, to spew the fury boiling inside her, when he abruptly jerked her closer and his head lowered, his lips suddenly covering hers with a dominant, furious hunger.
As though the touch, the kiss, filled with his own fury and protectiveness had lit a fuse inside her own lust, Tehya began fighting, not for release, but for control of the kiss.
She nipped at his tongue as he licked hungrily at hers, his lips slanting over hers as her hands moved suddenly from his chest to his hair.
The force of her teeth against the sensitive flesh had him jerking back, but only momentarily. A second later his hand gripped her jaw, holding it as his lips covered hers forcibly once again.
The dominance, the incredible seductive force of the action, had a hungry moan passing her throat as her fingers clenched in the material covering his chest.
Buttons popped. The material parted and a second later the sexy mat of curls on his chest tingled against her sensitive palms.
It was incredible. Force meeting force as he groaned and the kiss deepened. Her nails rasped over his chest, her hands caressing, lowering along his abdomen to the low band of his jeans.
Beneath the tough denim material, the hard ridge of his cock tempted her, causing her to flatten her palm over the heavy width as a desperate cry vibrated in her throat and she returned to tearing at the metal clasp.
