Selecting a book at random, Taylor sat in the chair between the two beds placed there for that purpose. Megan and Lila ceased their crying and lay where they could see the pictures.
Taylor hadn’t gotten halfway through the story when both kids fell asleep. Putting the book on the chair, Taylor turned off the light and went back into the living room to wait for Kane. They aren’t the only ones who are insecure when he’s not here.
She turned off most of the lights to enable her to see out the windows better. Making her rounds of the house, making certain doors and windows were locked, she also peered through a slightly lifted curtain to inspect all areas around the house for signs of Craig.
Relaxing her vigil at last, Taylor lay on the couch to wait for Kane to come home.
When he did an hour later, he knocked on the door in the distinct pattern they had devised. If a knock came that wasn’t his, Taylor wouldn’t open the door. Rising, she went to open it and let him in. Before he did, however, both closely looked at the silent street and quiet homes.
“Did you see anything?” she asked, taking his hand.
“No, nothing. If he’s watching the house with his rifle, he’s not doing it from someone’s roof.”
“I’d hope someone would see him lurking in their bushes and report him if he was on the ground,” she added.
“The cops will find him soon,” he murmured, then kissed her.
Taylor loved it when he kissed her like that. He knew just how to make her hot, make her want him. His hands cupped her cheeks, tilting her head back while his tongue stroked inside her mouth. Sliding her right arm around his neck, she drew him more tightly to her.
“Are you up for it?” he murmured against her lips.
“I’m always up for it.”
Kane slipped his arm around her waist, guiding her to the master bedroom. Since her return from the hospital, he had shared her room with her, but they hadn’t made love. Her panties wet with her lust, Taylor let him carefully, gently, undress her in the dark. Handicapped with only one arm, she couldn’t return the favor, but lay down on the bed as Kane stripped himself naked.
He lay next to her, his hand on her breasts, his thumb toying with her nipples. Leaning over her, he kissed her, their tongues entangled, Taylor now throbbing with hunger. Unfailingly gentle, Kane never rushed, never pushed too hard, and always made certain she was fully aroused before he mounted her.
This night, he did not lay on her fully out of consideration for her arm. He poised over her, his hands on the bed to either side of her shoulders, and entered her slowly. As always, his huge member speared her wide open, and she nearly exploded as he thrust into her.
Splitting her legs wide, Taylor moaned softly as his thrusts speeded up. His gasps for breath coincided with hers as he drove in and out of her, making her mound catch fire. Her orgasm built, climbing, escalating, her teeth shut tight to prevent the wild cries of pleasure bursting from her lips.
Convulsing, spasming, her tunnel quaked with the sheer erotic sensations rocking her. Her orgasm rolled on with Kane’s shaft plunging deep even as he stiffened. A long slow groan escaped his lips, his thrusts slowing at the same time her climax rumbled to its finish.
Exhausted, Taylor rolled onto her right side, her head pillowed on Kane’s shoulder. His arm slipped under her to keep her close, and she felt his lips against her hair. She loved sleeping in his strong embrace, loved listening to his slow breathing as he dropped into slumber. Then she would sleep—safe, protected, and loved.
Chapter Twenty
“Could it be he thinks you’re dead?”
Without any sign of Craig over the last few days, Kane had begun to wonder if he had indeed run north into Canada. It seemed so odd to him that a man bent on vengeance would not act on it. He and Taylor had just tucked the twins into their beds and kissed them good night, and now spoke softly to not wake them.
“The Klingons have a saying,” she replied, lying on the sofa with her legs across his lap. “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”
Kane eyed her. “Who are the Klingons?”
Taylor laughed. “Someday, I’ll introduce you to Star Trek. But we cannot assume anything where that man is concerned.”
“I suppose not. I just want this all over with so we can start leading a normal life.”
“I hardly think life with a dragon is considered normal.”
“All right, more normal than this.”
“Who needs normal? It’s a setting on a dishwasher anyway.”
“Aren’t you profound this evening.”
Taylor grinned as her phone rang. “You really don’t want to hear my profanity. Your ears will burn.”
After glancing at the screen, Taylor clicked a button on her phone. “Hi, Mom.”
She listened, her expression changing to one of dawning horror. Abruptly sitting up, she lowered the phone and pressed a button. Instantly, Kane heard everything through the speaker.
“I’ve got your mom, Taylor,” said a man who could only be Craig.
“You leave her alone, you bastard,” Taylor half-screamed.
Feeling his fury rising as he heard sobbing in the background, Kane clenched his fists as the smarmy voice on the other end of the phone laughed.
“No can do, sweetheart. This is what you’re gonna do. You and your friend will get your asses over here. Now.”
“And then what?” Kane demanded, unable to stay silent.
“Oh, hey there, monster man,” Craig said cheerfully. “Nice to meetcha. How long you been doing my woman?”
“She ceased being your woman when you started hitting her,” he snapped. “You really don’t want to piss me off, Craig. Remember what happened the last time?”
“Except this time, I got mommy dearest here with a gun to her head. So, listen up. You and my lady bring those snotty brats over here, or she’s one dead bitch.”
“No,” Taylor yelled. “You keep them out of this.”
“I won’t hurt them, baby,” Craig soothed. “They’re my insurance that you’ll behave. That’s all. I just want us to have a conversation. You, me, and your new, er, man.”
“You are gonna burn for this,” Kane growled softly. “You will burn, I promise you.”
“No, you will be on your best behavior,” Craig snapped. “You can’t do a fucking thing while I have a gun pointed at Jackie’s head. You have thirty minutes to get your asses over here.”
Then the phone clicked, and the screen went blank. Taylor slowly closed the phone, staring blankly into space as Kane stood up. Furious, he paced, trying to think. He had never been to Jackie’s house, thus didn’t know the layout.
“Taylor,” he snapped, “we have to get in there so I can kill him. I am going to kill him this time.”
“You can’t.” Taylor’s voice sounded empty, devoid of hope. “He’ll shoot my mom; you heard him.”
His hand under her right arm, Kane stood her on her feet. “Don’t give up on me, Taylor. He’s underestimating both of us. Are you a good shot?”
Taylor blinked, her dull eyes clearing. “Yeah. I practiced a great deal. In case I ever had to shoot him.”
“Now’s your chance. Let’s get the girls; you carry the gun. When you get a chance, you shoot. If you don’t take him out, I will.”
Running, Taylor went to their room for the gun and returned, shoving it into the small of her back. Together, they went into the children’s room. Lila and Megan woke slowly, grumpy, rubbing their eyes as Kane and Taylor picked them up from their beds.
“We got to go to Grandma’s,” Taylor told them, Lila resting her head on her shoulder.
They were nearly asleep again as the two of them buckled the girls into their seats. “How long does it take to get to your mom’s house?”
“Twenty minutes.”
Kane got into the front passenger seat as Taylor got in behind the wheel. “If we get there a few minutes early, I want to have a peek inside. Get the layout.”
Taylor n
odded and drove them out of their neighborhood and toward the highway. As she drove, they tried to plan for any possible scenario. Without knowing exactly what they would walk into, Kane could only remind her to shoot.
“Once his gun isn’t pointed at Jackie,” he said, “you shoot.”
“How will you distract him?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“How will we keep the girls out of harm’s way?” she asked, glancing at him, her voice trembling.
“Keep them behind us.”
“Yes. All right.”
The twins were their weak spot. In trying to protect Jackie as well as the kids, Kane knew he and Taylor were very vulnerable. If he had to, but only if he had to, he would go dragon right there in her house regardless of the consequences.
With five minutes to spare, Taylor parked the car at the curb. The lights inside the house were on, enabling Kane to see within when he peeked inside. Yet, he caught a fast glimpse of a face holding back a curtain to look out. Craig knew they had arrived.
The face vanished. As did Kane’s hope of looking in the window.
Getting out of the car, Taylor pulled the gun out to flick the safety catch off, then put it back. “If the girls stay asleep, we can put them on the couch. It’s under that window he looked out of.”
“Good.”
Kane carried Lila and Taylor held Megan against her shoulder as they walked up the path to the door. Not bothering to knock, Kane opened it, and took his second-long look at Craig.
He sat in a chair; the rifle pointed at Jackie’s head. From there, he couldn’t possibly miss.
Jackie had been tied to her chair and watched Kane and Taylor enter to lay the kids on the couch. “You shouldn’t have brought them,” she said, her voice quivering with fear. “I’m not worth your lives.”
“Stop, Mom,” Taylor said firmly. “Don’t say anything.”
Craig’s eyes never left Kane’s. “You see now, big boy?” Craig asked, his previous humor gone. “One funny move and she’s dead.”
“She dies, so do you,” Kane replied. “They say hell’s fire is hot, but I guarantee mine are hotter.”
He studied Craig’s hands, still red from where he had burned them. Scar tissue formed over where he had begun to heal. “Remember how I melted your gun, Craig?” he asked, stepping forward, but not in Taylor’s line of fire. “You leave now, and you won’t burn.”
Craig stiffened. “Back off, asshole. Bring the fucking brats to me.”
“No.”
“I’ll kill her, I swear.”
“And I’ll kill you.”
Kane watched Craig’s eyes flick from him to Taylor and back. Indecision showed, and he licked his lips, a sure sign that Kane was getting to him.
“Walk now,” Kane said, “and live.”
“I want those brats.”
“You won’t get them,” Taylor snapped. “Do as Kane says and you won’t be harmed.”
Craig’s upper lip curled in a sneer. “You chose this creature over me? You’ll pay for that, woman, I swear to God.”
Kane reached into his pocket and withdrew the switchblade knife. Craig’s eyes widened when he saw it.
“Hey, that’s mine.”
Kane flicked the blade open and motioned toward Craig. Craig’s eyes widened further and swung the rifle toward him in an effort to defend himself from the perceived attack. As Taylor was now behind him, Kane didn’t see her pull the gun from her jeans. But he heard the gunshot, and Craig screamed in pain.
But he didn’t drop the rifle.
He kept swinging it toward Kane, his body moving fast. He ducked low and in the same motion jumped to the side. Taylor fired again, and the bullet hit the wall behind Craig. Then Craig fired. At Kane.
Using all his dragon instincts and speed, Kane knew what Craig would do a fraction of a second before Craig pulled the trigger. Thus, he had danced to the side, and the rifle’s shot missed him by a hair. Yet, he also landed between Taylor and Craig.
“Get out of the way!” Taylor screamed.
“Mommy?”
In horror, Kane heard the twins start crying and listened as one of them ran toward himself and Taylor. Spinning, he tried to reach the child, knowing he just put his back to a man with a rifle. He heard the hammer fall, but there was only a dry click. He seized the kid and shoved her at Taylor, then went for the other.
But Craig proved faster. Lunging, he scooped the crying baby into his arm, the rifle in his other hand, and bolted through the door.
“No!” Taylor shrieked.
Growling low in his throat, Kane went after him. The instant he was free of the door, he went dragon. A second after, he was airborne. Craig ran fast down the middle of the street, the child in his arms now screaming. Lights flashed on in houses around Jackie’s as the gunfire roused them from their beds.
Craig looked back and saw nothing. Kane knew he saw nothing, for he flew silently just over Craig’s head, high enough that not even his tail was visible. But whether Craig knew he was there, somewhere, or not, didn’t matter. He never slowed his headlong pace.
Hoping he would drop his small hostage, Kane followed him for another half a block. Craig headed out of the neighborhood toward a park, the girl still screaming and crying. Kane could not flame him as he still held the baby, but perhaps he could make him drop her.
Craig entered the dark and empty park.
Partially furling his wings, Kane stooped, his front talons out and ready. He seized Craig by his shoulders, digging his razor-sharp talons deeply into his flesh. Craig screamed in agony and dropped both the baby and the gun to the grass. Not releasing him, Kane dragged him several feet before flaring his wings.
A dragon wasn’t meant to carry the weight of anything except his own body. Kane couldn’t exactly fly with Craig stuck, bleeding, struggling, on his talons, but he could and did beat his wings hard enough to drag him across the park to an open field.
Craig shrieked in agony, his blood pouring over Kane’s talons. All Kane needed was to be far enough away from houses that his fire might not be noticed. I told you, you will burn. Yanking his talons from Craig’s body, he let him fall.
Craig tried to crawl away, still screaming, as Kane rose high enough into the air to hover briefly, beating his wings to keep him in place for a few moments. Opening his jaws, he sent a long, narrow swath of his hottest flames at Craig. Engulfed, Craig’s shrieks rose, then abruptly cut off as he sucked the inferno into his lungs.
Still, he writhed on the ground, burning. Relentless, determined no trace would remain of Craig, Kane continued to blast his breath at the evil man.
Unable to hover any longer, Kane dropped lightly to the ground. Small flames indicated where Craig’s body had been, but Kane sent another focused burst at the spot to make certain no bones or teeth stayed to be found. All that would mark where Craig died would be a black spot in the field.
Kane stopped and glanced around. Over the crackle of the fires nibbling at the dead grass and weeds came the sound of sirens. Red and blue lights flashed in the distance. Kane stamped out the last of the fire with his feet so it wouldn’t spread, then launched himself skyward.
Flying fast, he headed back toward where he had first seized Craig at the edge of the park. The twin still screamed, wailing and crying, alone in the dark. Not far away, people opened their doors, asking questions, calling to one another.
They were far enough away that Kane’s dragon was invisible to them. He dropped to the grass and switched forms.
“Here, sweetheart,” he crooned, picking up the frightened and weeping child. “I’m here, honey, Kane’s here.”
Not knowing which twin he carried, he walked back down the street among the watching people, soothing the crying child, rubbing her back as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “It’s all right, baby. It’s gonna be all right.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Police, ambulances, and firetrucks swarmed the neighborhood outside Jackie’s house. I
nside, Taylor held her now sleeping daughters on her lap as Kane recounted what he had done when Craig bolted from the house with Lila in his arm. Jackie sat beside her, still shivering.
Police examined every inch of Jackie’s living room, the ropes, the holes in the walls, and took notes as they told the truth of what had happened that night. Craig took Jackie hostage, and in the exchange of gunfire, Craig grabbed Lila and ran.
“I chased him down the street,” Kane told Lieutenant Johnson. “I ran as fast as I could and caught up to him at the edge of the park.”
“What did you do?”
“I tackled him. He dropped Lila and the rifle, but he managed to kick me in the gut. While I was trying to get my breath, he got up and ran.”
“Did you chase him?”
Kane nodded, rubbing his stomach where Taylor knew damn well, he hadn’t been kicked. “Lila was safe, and he didn’t have the rifle. I left her there and chased him. But I lost him.”
“Then?”
Kane glanced at Taylor. “I went back to Lila. She was still terrified, but I brought her back here.”
Johnson nodded, and if he suspected Kane had told anything but the truth, he gave no sign. A uniformed officer entered the house, a hunting rifle carried by the cop’s finger in the trigger guard. “Found this at the park, LT,” he said.
“Well, well, well,” Johnson said with satisfaction. “Bag that as evidence. Sergeant. I want every inch of this area searched. Get helicopters with searchlights. I want Westerman found.”
“Yes, sir.”
Johnson stood over the five of them, his eyes scanning their faces. “While I can’t condone you not calling us first, I reckon I can understand why you didn’t. Taylor, I want his gun.”
“But he might come back,” she protested.
“I need it for forensics, then you can have it returned to you. For your protection only.”
Taylor pulled the gun from her jeans and gave it to him. He accepted it, then handed it to an officer. “Now, why don’t you all go back to your house, Taylor? We have enough here. Take your mom, get some rest.”
Taylor nodded, then lifted Lila over to Kane. “Thanks, Lieutenant. We’ll be there if you need us.”
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