Noni. Even the name had nice peaks and valleys. It had been too long since Cobb had tortured a woman for the night. “Do you want to watch this time?” he murmured.
“Not really.” Isobel swept her hand out.
That kind of thing had never interested her. Pity. Cobb rummaged through the papers in the file. “Noni has an aunt…who’s married to another woman.”
Isobel tapped red nails on her desk. “I’m trying to find them now. They seem to be on the move, but the second I get them, we can use them as leverage.”
Cobb looked up and focused. “Lesbians,” he mused, finding a picture of the women. He pointed to a fifty-something woman with dark eyes. “This one looks like the girl.”
“That’s her aunt.”
He nodded. “They got married. What do you think about that?” He and Isobel so rarely discussed anything but their future plans. Other people’s lives didn’t factor into their thoughts usually, and sometimes that was okay. Every once in a while he wished for more. Could he make Isobel look at him the way she looked at her creations? With pride and possession? “Sweetheart?”
“Fine by me,” Isobel said, her voice cultured. “What a pity to miss out on the male species, however. You’re all so easy to…love.” Her head tilted.
What had she really meant to say? He narrowed his gaze at her, not fooled by her placid expression. His blood started to pump faster, even as his chest ached a little. “I believe the word you were looking for is ‘manipulate.’”
She rolled her eyes. “I meant the word I used. I always do.”
He stretched his biceps after working them hard that morning. “You never talk about your family.” Except her daughter, and that talk was usually clinical.
“Nothing to say. My mother was weak and died in childbirth. My father was a soldier. A great one.” She smiled, and her chin lowered, giving her a sultry look.
“I already knew that.” Why couldn’t she give him more? Just a little bit.
“I grew up in boarding schools. He died when I was twenty.” Her gaze remained clear, but a small tremor had gone through her words.
Cobb’s gaze sharpened. “It hurt you. His death.”
“He was my father.”
So she could be hurt. Was that why she’d chosen her work? He opened his mouth to ask more questions but stopped when she waved a hand.
“The past is irrelevant.” Her perfectly painted lips twitched as she stood and sauntered around the desk toward him. Her scent of roses came with her. “You know I don’t manipulate men. I love everything about the males of this species. Their strength.” She dropped to her knees between his legs. “Their determination.” Her palms smoothed up his legs to unbutton his pants. “Their courage.”
Desire slammed into him. Hard. Even though he understood her mind, even though they often had opposing goals, she had him here, and he knew it. So he grabbed her hair and yanked the braid free, letting the glorious mass cascade down her back. In her midfifties, she was truly stunning.
She released him from his pants and stroked him, her skin softer than silk. “We need to proceed slowly, Elton. No more crazy news conferences.”
He barely kept his eyes from rolling back in his head. “We’ll talk later.”
“Now.” She leaned over and let her heated breath brush the tip of his dick. “My soldiers have regrouped. They’re going after the cop.”
Cop? What cop? Cobb tried to focus and instead spread his legs more. “Wait. I met with the cop a short time ago. Malloy. He didn’t know shit.”
She sucked the tip of him into her mouth, her grip strong at his base. “No matter. We’re taking him alive for information. Well, probably.” Then she swallowed him whole, forcing him to the back of her throat.
He should protest, but his head fell back and his eyes closed. Then, as she no doubt wanted him to, he completely forgot everything but her heated mouth.
* * *
Denver kept an eye on the quiet woman in the passenger seat, taking back roads in a long circuitous route to make sure they weren’t being followed. Freezing wind blew in through the shattered windows and bullet holes. He couldn’t believe Madison and Cobb had nearly caught up to him with Noni in the car.
Damn it.
He’d known he would be a danger to her. And he’d been right.
She huddled in her seat, her gaze sightless out the window. No doubt in shock. He turned up the heat to battle the open air and took another icy corner. “We’ll get you into a hot shower soon, sweetheart.”
She barely nodded.
He reached for a burner phone and called Detective Malloy.
“What?” Malloy snapped.
Denver winced. “Ah, we left your house and got into a bit of a skirmish. Enemies from my past, from the Gray brothers’ past, have obviously been watching you.” He waited for Malloy to explode, but the cop remained quiet. “You should get out of town. Take Tina on a vacation.”
Malloy finally breathed out. “Who are these people?”
“Can’t tell you.” Denver said. “They have to be watching you. That’s the only way they could’ve found me.”
“Then they can come and get me,” Malloy said darkly.
Denver sighed. Since he’d left Malloy, the cop was probably safe. But he and the Gray brothers needed to cut all ties with the detective for his own safety. “Just think about a vacation.” He hung up.
Man, he hoped Malloy listened. One problem at a time, though.
He focused on the dark and snowy morning, his memories tumbling back from the quiet. Yeah, he’d known Dr. Madison would someday find him. She’d told him as much.
He was eight years old, sitting on an examination table while the doctor took his blood pressure. They were using a local doctor’s office for physical tests today, and Ryker and Heath were somewhere in other rooms. He wished they could all be tested together, but that never happened.
“So perfectly steady,” she said, unwrapping the cuff. “You also performed very well on your calculus test earlier today. Equations and also spatial relations is going to be a snap for you.” Gently, almost kindly, she ran a hand down his hair. “You’re everything I could’ve hoped for, Denver.”
He swallowed, entranced by her gentle touch but wary of the sharp gleam in her too-blue eyes. “Thank you.”
Approval lifted her dark eyebrows. “You’ve been so strong and silent the last two times we’ve met. I like when you talk to me.”
He looked around the small room, absently counting the cotton balls he could see through the glass jar on the narrow counter. “Okay.” Kicking out his legs, he thought again about her real name. He hadn’t seen her in two months, and he wondered what she knew about his life. He extended his arm, showing a myriad of bruises cascading to his wrist. “These hurt.”
She looked at the bruises, her eyebrows lifting, her hand still on his head. “Mere contusions. You’re strong enough to banish the pain.”
He blinked. Did she care or not? “Ned hit me.” Then he watched her. Carefully.
Her bright red lips pursed. “Hit him back.” No emotion, no concern was in her voice.
“He’s too big,” Denver whispered.
She let go of his head and moved away, making him feel cold. “You’ll be bigger someday.” Then she leaned against the counter and crossed her arms over a light pink blouse. The silky kind. “You have to fight your own battles, Denver. It’s the only way you’ll get strong enough.”
“For what?” His ears rang. She wasn’t going to protect him or Ryker or Heath. She didn’t care.
“For your life and what you must do in it. You’re unique.” She reached for a notebook. The damn lady was always taking notes.
He scowled. “Where do you live?” Why was she studying him? If she didn’t care, why was she even here?
She scribbled something. “That’s not your concern.”
He couldn’t see beneath her surface. Why not? “Do you care about me? About us?” Was there a way to make her car
e? If Ned hit Ryker in the head again, he might kill him. “Do you?”
She looked up, her eyes burning. “I care more than you know. We’re tied together forever. All of us.”
He shook his head. “I’ll run away. I will.”
She smiled then, her teeth white and straight. “Oh, Denver. You’ll never get away from me. That much I promise you.”
Denver jerked back to the present as the vehicle slid. He quickly corrected, looking to make sure Noni was all right.
She blinked, huddled closer to the heat as snow blew inside the vehicle. “You okay?”
He slowly shook his head. “Not even close, sweetheart.”
Chapter
14
The place outside Coeur d’Alene was a small cabin fronting a lake, away from any main street. Denver drove carefully around the lake road and down a long forested drive to reach the log A-frame. Snow billowed down, and across the lake, shimmering Christmas lights glowed from three widely spaced mansions as dawn began to lighten the sky. Between them, smaller cabins, dark and empty for the winter, dotted the hill.
He stepped out of the vehicle, noting defensive positions in rock formations and thick trees. Wind and snow battered him, and his boots crunched the ice. “The cloud cover is strong. If they were tracking us via satellite, they had a rough time. We’re safe here.”
Noni didn’t move from the vehicle.
He leaned down to see her staring numbly out the front window. His heart stuttered. What had he just put her through? He had to find the right words, but they escaped him. So he resorted to action. “We’re okay now. Let’s get you warm.”
Her face was so pale it looked waxen. But she opened her door after grabbing her pack. She left the small silver Lady Smith & Wesson he’d given her on the seat.
He stepped closer to the vehicle and gently secured the weapon, tucking it into the front of his waist. Shutting her door, he took her hand and led her across the frozen ground to the cabin, which was unlocked.
“It’s dark,” Noni murmured, her shoulders shaking.
He stepped inside and flipped on a light. The quaint entryway held a long bench and hooks for coats. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and took Noni’s wool one to hang up. “Boots off.” He kicked his off and then gently set her on the bench before dropping to his haunches and taking hers off. She allowed him to do so without saying anything. “Baby? I think you might be in shock.” He gently rubbed the thick socks covering her small feet.
She just stared at him.
The blank look sliced into his heart. His past was threatening her now. Fury at himself nearly choked off his breath, but he didn’t have the luxury of feeling anger. He calmed himself. There were so many promises he wanted to make her, but he wouldn’t lie to her ever again. He just couldn’t. So he’d stick with the truth. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise.” Not once in his life had he meant a promise more.
She swallowed and then nodded.
Good. He stood and took her hands, pulling her to stand. Then he led her into a cozy great room complete with a plush sofa and chair set in front of a stone fireplace. Wide windows looked out at the darkened lake and houses on the far side. He pressed her onto the couch and then turned to quickly make a fire from the logs and paper set to the side. It soon crackled merrily and filled the room with warmth. “I need to check out the generator and make sure we’re set,” he said, turning to face her. “It’s on and working, so there’s probably warm water. How about a hot shower?” That might help ease her out of the shock. The woman had seen him kill again. His entire chest hurt at the thought. But for now, he had to get her warm.
She rose shakily to her feet and looked around.
An L-shaped kitchen, complete with granite countertops, sat in the west corner, and to its left were three doorways showing a bathroom and two bedrooms. “I’ll be right back,” Denver murmured, striding for the outside door again, grabbing his jacket on the way. The wind slashed into him when he stepped outside and crossed around the side to check the generator. A small shed safely ensconced it along with a couple extra containers of gasoline. Good. He was just closing the shed door as his phone buzzed, and he lifted it to his ear. “Denver.”
“Hey. It’s Ryker.” His brother’s voice was hushed. “Everyone is still asleep here, but I wanted to check in.”
“Madison and Cobb found me,” Denver said simply. “I just outran their soldiers on icy roads.”
Silence ticked for a moment. “Are you sure it was Madison and Cobb’s soldiers and not Richie and the Kingdom Boys? That gang found you somehow at our safe house. Maybe they followed you?” Ryker’s tone was a low growl.
Denver pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned against the freezing log cabin. “Not a chance. The soldiers I just fought with were well trained and armed beyond any local gang. One man actually jumped on the roof of our SUV while I was driving.”
“Fuck.”
Yeah. That pretty much summed it up.
“Are you secure?” All emotion deserted Ryker’s voice as he went into battle mode.
“Yes. We’re at the safe house.”
“Good. We’ll create an extraction plan. May need to borrow a Blackhawk from the brothers up north.” Movement sounded over the line.
Denver shook his head and then remembered Ryker couldn’t see him. “Negative. I have to stick with one op at a time, Ry. Madison and Cobb will have to wait.”
“They’re too close to you now.”
Opposing forces pulled at Denver, trying to rip him apart. He had to settle himself. Focus, damn it. “The window for saving that baby is too short. If she’s around here, and my gut says she is, then I have to stay in place.” The baby had to come first. “She’s an innocent, Ryker. There’s nobody else to protect her.”
Ryker breathed out. “I agree. She has to come first for all of us. If not, what the hell have we been fighting for?”
Denver closed his eyes. Thank God Ryker got it. “So we remain in place. Keep with the plan. You guys find the headquarters for Madison and Cobb, and I’ll focus solely on reclaiming the baby while trying to stay off Madison’s radar. Then we’ll go from there.” The weight of keeping everyone safe landed like boulders on his shoulders.
“You’ll need backup with the exchange,” Ryker said evenly.
“I won’t.” Denver tapped his head back on the log wall, his body hurting. His head aching. “Trust me.”
“I do,” Ryker said. “What about Malloy? They only way Madison and Cobb could’ve found you would be if they had been watching him. Which we kind of expected.”
“I know. I told him to take a vacation, and he told me to basically fuck off.” Denver sighed.
“Then we have to cut ties with him. To keep him safe,” Ryker said.
“Yep. Agreed. Let the group in Montana know,” Denver said.
“I will. You sound…off. Besides the obvious, what’s up?”
Denver started pacing. Tension uncoiled inside him, wanting out. Now. “Shit, Ry. I wasn’t going to tell you this, but Jory and I took a test. We’re not blood.” He couldn’t hold that in.
Silence.
“Ryker?”
“You have brothers, Denver,” Ryker said, his tone hoarse. “Me and Heath. We’re yours.”
Yeah. Denver stopped and shut his eyes. “I know.” It was true. They were blood. He opened his eyes again to look at the scar along his palm. “I do know it, Ryker.” For so long he’d had only his brothers. Everything eating him up inside came pouring out. “There’s more. Noni saw me kill, Ry. Cold. Again.”
Ryker exhaled across the line. “Oh.”
“Yeah. I mean, I had to or we would’ve died. But I killed fast and without any struggle.” Though would it have made a difference? Probably not. The end result would’ve been the same. “She’s been in shock since.”
“Get her into a hot shower.”
Denver swallowed, his hand tightening on the phone. “I did.”
“Ah
man, Denver,” Ryker breathed. “You did what you had to do to save you both, and she’ll either get that…or she won’t. It doesn’t change who you are.”
That was the problem. “I’m a killer.” Had been for years. He hung his head since nobody could see him. Exhaustion weakened his knees. The backs of his eyes stung. The world was too heavy on him. “What happened. Before. That was my fault.”
Silence had more weight. Then…“Are you kidding me?” Ryker barked.
Denver winced. This was definitely not the time for this discussion. “No.”
“Too fucking bad. Explain.”
He never should’ve opened his damn mouth. This is why he chose not talking over talking any day. But he also knew his brother, and there was no getting out of this one. And it was time to atone. To at least say the words that cut through him with a sharpness that stole his breath. “Ned Cobb. If you guys hadn’t been trying to save me, then you wouldn’t have been there. He wouldn’t have died, and we wouldn’t have gone on the run for so long. I’m sorry.” For years he’d wanted to say those two last words but had never gotten up the balls. His eyes itched. “I’m so fucking sorry, Ryker.”
“Jesus, Denver.” Ryker was way too quiet for a minute. “None of that was your fault. Everything bad that happened to us was on Ned and the sheriff’s heads. And Isobel Madison’s. All we did was try to survive, man.”
“I know, but if it had been just me, then you guys could’ve had normal lives.” Denver’s throat started to hurt. Enough words. He couldn’t control them. “Without me—”
“Without you, we’d be alone in life,” Ryker said quietly. “You made us a family. The three of us. Suddenly we had a brother, a younger one to protect, and we did it. It was a shitty time and a shitty place, but we survived together. The three of us. That means something, and I thank God—who I thought had forgotten about us—for helping us find one another. For you.”
Tears, actual tears, clogged Denver’s throat. He’d reimagined that day a million times, trying to figure out how he could’ve spared Ry and Heath. Why was life so fucking hard? “I’d be dead without you guys.”