Stronger Than You Know--A Novel

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Stronger Than You Know--A Novel Page 22

by Lori Foster


  Turning her own phrase back on her, he said, “FYI, I wasn’t talking to Annette that whole time. In fact, my conversation with her was short and sweet, consisting of me saying I was off the market, and her laughing her ass off at me.”

  Kennedy frowned. “Why, exactly, did she laugh?”

  “Because the idea of me being in a relationship is hilarious as fuck, I’m guessing.” He kissed her again for good measure. “And there you have it. You’re so special, so sexy and unique, you have me doing things out of character.”

  Her expression went through several changes, caught somewhere between displeasure and hope. Finally she sighed. “I don’t understand you.”

  “Makes two of us.” He grinned. “But I’m coming to grips with it, so I hope you do, too. By the way, I took so long because Dad cornered me on the front porch. He gave me a real heart-to-heart, the gist of which was that I shouldn’t screw this up or I’d be regretting it the rest of my life. So here I am, trying to figure things out and, truth, Kennedy, I’m not getting a whole hell of a lot of help from you.”

  Her eyes widened. “I don’t want your family to pressure you.”

  Laughing, he stepped back and snagged her hand, drawing her out of the kitchen. “That’s what you took from all that, huh? For sure, you’ll keep me on my toes.” The humor swelled within him. They had a looming situation of life-and-death proportions, and still she made him laugh. There couldn’t be another woman like Kennedy anywhere. “C’mon. Let’s go home.”

  “And get naked and do all those amazing things again?”

  “Now you’re talking.”

  “I just need a few minutes to say goodbye, and to give Chimera and her babies one last hug.”

  Kennedy might not realize it yet, but she already fit in with his family. She didn’t need to be a computer geek like Madison, or a fighter like him, Cade and Sterling. She fit because of who she was, not what she could do.

  His family liked her. He more than liked her.

  Was she the one for him? It was sure starting to feel that way.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE SNOW WAS already falling by the time they left. Big, fat flakes that quickly gathered everywhere, covering every surface in white. Kennedy thought it was beautiful, adding a fairy-tale feel to the terrain.

  Shivering, she huddled in the passenger seat, wishing she’d brought a coat.

  “Not warming up, yet?” Reyes turned up the heater.

  “Getting there.” He wasn’t shivering, but he was probably too busy watching the road to bother with the cold.

  When his cell phone rang, Kennedy jumped, then immediately scowled, wondering if it was Annette calling back, or maybe one of the other women he’d mentioned.

  He surprised her by answering hands-free, so that the caller was on speaker.

  “What’s up?” he asked. “Make it quick, because the roads are shit.”

  “Sorry to bother you,” Madison said. “Jodi just left the motel. Cade and Sterling are ready to go, but you’d still reach her before they do.”

  “What in the world,” Kennedy said. “Why would she go out?”

  “I don’t think she’s someone content to be cooped up,” Madison answered. “She probably wants to face the threat, not hide from it.”

  “If she’s alone,” Reyes said, adding enough ominous overtones to make Kennedy worry that the men had gotten to her already.

  “Do you think she’s been taken?” She wasn’t sure Jodi would survive a second time.

  “Doubtful,” Madison said. “I haven’t seen any movement with the men, but I still don’t like it. We found her easily enough, so they could have as well.”

  Reyes quickly pulled over to the side of the road. “I’m on it.”

  Kennedy had no idea what was going on.

  “Keep me posted,” Madison said, and disconnected.

  Reyes got out and growled over his shoulder, “Follow me.”

  Twisting, Kennedy saw him walk to the rear door, open it, then flip up the seat.

  She got out and hustled to the back of the truck. The sound of her boots crunching in the snow seemed absurdly loud.

  Reyes removed a rifle from the storage space and set it aside.

  Her eyes flared. “Expecting trouble?”

  “Always.” He retrieved a Glock and a bulletproof vest. Turning, he handed her the vest. “Put that on.”

  Her heart started pounding double time. “You really think—”

  “Don’t know, and I won’t take chances with you.” He tilted his head to indicate he wanted her back in the truck. Not knowing what else to do, and already shivering, she carried the heavy vest back to her seat. After he slid into the driver’s side and closed the door, he stored the rifle on the floor near her feet.

  “This is nuts,” she muttered aloud while struggling into the vest.

  “Here, let me help you.” He reached for the Velcro strips and tightened them around her. “Look at it this way. The vest will help keep you warm.” He stole a kiss then put the truck back in gear.

  She made an abrupt decision. “I’m going to call Jodi.”

  “Not a bad idea. If she’s in a listening mood, tell her to pull over someplace safe and wait for us.”

  Nodding, Kennedy quickly pulled up Jodi’s number. At first it rang and rang without answer, until she was starting to panic. “Come on, Jodi,” she urged. “Answer, damn it.”

  “’Lo.”

  Releasing a tense breath, Kennedy got herself together and affected a casual tone. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Heading out for a bite to eat. Why?”

  “Oh? Could you...” She glanced at Reyes, who had his attention on the road and the accumulating snow. Without coming right out and saying so, he showed that he trusted her to handle this the right way. “Do you think you could put off your meal for just a bit? I’m on my way to see you.”

  “Why?” Jodi asked with suspicion. “You okay?”

  “Yes, fine.”

  “After that mess we were in, you didn’t seem fine. You seemed shook.” She paused, then asked, “Where’s your hulk? Don’t tell me he’s turned on you already?”

  Kennedy almost gave into an eye roll. “He’s right here with me, Jodi. Now can you pull over?”

  “Not that I won’t enjoy seeing you, but you should be holed up somewhere, staying safe.”

  Exasperated, Kennedy countered, “As should you. At least I’m not alone, but you are, and really, Jodi, I thought you’d stay put until you heard from me.”

  “Sorry, but I was getting antsy. I felt like a sitting duck, ya know?”

  Yes, she understood that well enough. Between the fire at her apartment and Reyes taking her in, she had felt the same. “Please, pull over.”

  “I already took the on-ramp, but I can get off at the next exit. That’s where I was headed anyway. There’s a little diner that truckers use. Might take me another five minutes or so.” Jodi named the exit and the diner. “How’s that sound?”

  Reyes held up a hand, flashing five fingers first, then two.

  “I’ll be there in under ten minutes. Go directly inside and wait, okay?”

  “Sure, Mom,” Jodi quipped. “Later.”

  “From what I saw of her car,” Reyes said, “it’s not exactly roadworthy in this weather.” The wipers cleared the windshield of a continuous stream of snowflakes and ice. “I have a bad feeling, babe.”

  Well, hell. His bad feeling immediately became her bad feeling, too. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Instincts kicking in.”

  Kennedy spotted the exit up ahead. “That didn’t take any time at all.”

  “I know, but I didn’t want to give her an exact time frame.”

  Because he thought Jodi might use the information to plot against them? She shook her head. “Sti
ll not trusting her?”

  Reyes snorted.

  Thanks to the snowstorm, the stretch of road was quiet with only a few cars present. “This is like a whiteout.” It wasn’t uncommon for Colorado, where the weather could be mild, then turn to a blizzard, especially at this time of year.

  “At least it’s not a bomb cyclone,” Reyes murmured. “And luckily it’s mostly melting on the road. Guess the pavement is still warm from the earlier sunshine.”

  Up ahead, alone in the lot, Jodi sat in her car with her cell phone in hand.

  “Why hasn’t she gone in yet?”

  Reyes shook his head and then pulled in with some distance between them. “Stay put while I check it out.”

  “She won’t want to see you.”

  “She doesn’t get everything she wants. Now will you stay in the truck?”

  Kennedy nodded. “Do you need the rifle?”

  “Got the Glock,” he said, stuffing it in the waistband at the back of his jeans and pulling his flannel shirt over it. “Sit tight. I’ll be right back.” Without another word, Reyes got out and closed the truck door.

  Jodi saw him approaching. Her eyes widened as she twisted to look out the driver’s window, staring toward Kennedy. Her mouth opened in a warning that Kennedy couldn’t hear.

  Reyes stiffened, started to turn to her, and suddenly a car came careening toward him, forcing him to jump back. He landed half over the back fender of Jodi’s car, then got badly jarred when the other car crashed into hers. He ended up thrown to the other side.

  Horrified, Kennedy screamed his name. What to do? Reyes had told her to stay put, but now she couldn’t even see him. What if he was horribly hurt? What if he was knocked out, making it easy for them to kill him?

  In a single heartbeat she noted there were four men, three swarming out of the car and one still revving the engine as he slowly pulled away from Jodi’s car.

  Jodi was no longer in the front seat.

  Mind made up, Kennedy removed her seat belt and grabbed the rifle. She had no idea how to use it, but they wouldn’t know that. Maybe she could bluff long enough for Reyes to... She didn’t know. Get his bearings? Recover?

  Not die.

  Just please, God, don’t let him die.

  She opened the door to step out—and hard hands grabbed her from behind.

  * * *

  DELBERT COULDN’T BELIEVE it when he got to Jodi’s motel and found her driving away. He followed her to the mostly empty lot of a dive diner, staying back so she wouldn’t spot him, and lo and behold, Kennedy was there. He couldn’t have planned it more perfectly.

  Seeing her made him want her even more. With success almost at hand, he felt the urgency burning through his blood.

  Just as he pulled into the back of the lot, grateful for the thick snowfall that helped conceal him, an attack happened with a car trying to run over the big guy, no doubt to remove him so they could get to Jodi.

  Didn’t take a genius to know his cohort had set up the whole thing—without even telling Del about it! What a double-crossing bastard. Now Del was glad he’d bailed without a word. Let the prick have Jodi.

  Del only wanted Kennedy.

  Taking advantage of the chaos, he pulled up behind the truck and crept forward on foot. Thinking to use the butt of his gun to shatter the passenger window, he was stunned nearly stupid when Kennedy actually stepped out. So she wasn’t a cowering girl anymore?

  Better and better. He’d enjoy seeing her fight her fate.

  Any second now that big bruiser could be on them, and Del would lose his chance.

  While she was focused on the scene before her, he locked a tight arm around her throat, ensuring she couldn’t make any noise, and jammed the barrel of his semiautomatic to her temple. “Drop the rifle or I’ll kill you right now.”

  Her entire body shuddered, but she held on to the weapon.

  The bitch had gotten a lot gutsier.

  “Or,” he breathed against her cheek, tightening his arm even more, “I’ll tell the others to kill your boyfriend. What do you think?” She, of course, didn’t know that he now worked alone, that he was as surprised as her to see men on the scene.

  As she struggled for air, she dropped the rifle with a clatter.

  Del looked up to see her bodyguard wasn’t out of commission after all. No, he was rapidly annihilating everyone.

  “Fuck.” Spinning Kennedy around, Del smacked her hard in the head with his gun. Her eyes rolled back and she slumped hard into the door, shattering the window after all—and no doubt drawing attention to them.

  She was a small woman, but her deadweight wasn’t easy for him to lift, not with his gun still in hand.

  Awkwardly dragging her, he stuffed her through the driver’s door and climbed in beside her. In that single suspended moment of time, a golden-eyed gaze locked on his. Del saw his own death in those cold eyes. The big bruiser started toward him in a flat-out run.

  With escape as his main goal, Del screeched out of the lot as fast as he could. He couldn’t help the shudder of dread that raced down his spine. He’d seen a lot of shit in his days, but he’d never seen rage like that.

  And it had been directed at him.

  Glancing in the rearview mirror, he didn’t yet see the big guy’s truck following, so maybe he had a chance. Where to go, though? Not back to the motel where Crazy lived. That bastard would probably torture Kennedy just for amusement. By the time he finished, there wouldn’t be enough of her left for Del to enjoy.

  When she suddenly groaned, he glanced her way. Already a colorful knot swelled on her temple. She still looked dazed. “Be glad it’s just me, girlie. If I hadn’t left that crazy fuck when I did, you’d be dealing with real trouble right now.” He snickered. “I mean, I’m trouble. But that other dude? Even I didn’t want to deal with him anymore. I cut our association just today—and as luck would have it, I found you.”

  She shifted, and it occurred to him, perhaps a moment too late, that her feet were against him. Half-watching the icy road, he tried to adjust her, but then...

  Drawing up her knees, she kicked like a mule, one foot catching him in the shoulder, the other in his jaw. The old car swerved on threadbare tires, sliding sideways on the slick roadway. The gun fell to the floor near his feet as he tried to keep from crashing.

  Kennedy launched at him.

  What the hell?

  Like a pissed-off wildcat, she clawed at his face, scoring his cheek and jaw. Damn it, it hurt. Sure, he’d wanted a little fight in her, but not this berserker shit! “Bitch,” he roared. “You’ll kill us both!” One-handed, he tried to fend her off, but she was throwing punches left and right, and somehow she managed to get him right in the junk.

  Ah, hell.

  Breath left him in a gravelly moan, and his hands went slack on the wheel. She took advantage, striking him again and again.

  That did it. The car hit an icy spot and whipped sideways, slammed hard into a guardrail and then tumbled half over into a ravine.

  He’d finally gotten Kennedy, only to die in the process.

  * * *

  AT THE LAST possible second, Kennedy realized they would wreck and that it would be bad. She grabbed for the seat belt, got her hand and wrist tangled in it, but didn’t have time to fasten it around her. She held on tight, trying to keep herself from being thrown around.

  When the car hit the guardrail, it felt as though her entire body took the impact. Her head smacked the side passenger window, making her see stars for a moment, then she felt the car sliding over the berm and very real terror scrabbled through the angry haze that had encompassed her.

  If they rolled, she didn’t know if she would survive. Only her tangled grip on the seat belt kept her from bouncing from one end of the car to the other.

  Delbert wasn’t so lucky.

  Her thigh jamme
d against something sharp, and her elbow hit the dash. He landed against her. She screamed, as much out of dread as pain.

  When the car came to a jolting stop, they were at an odd angle, with her passenger door against the ground.

  Delbert O’Neil, his face covered in blood, slumped against her, pinning her down. She clenched her teeth as she tried to move.

  Please let Reyes be okay. Let Jodi be safe.

  Delbert moaned, but otherwise didn’t move.

  Her situation couldn’t be more dire. How far had they traveled? Her head split with pain, thanks to how he’d clunked her before they’d wrecked. Her wrist burned and ached, likely from how she’d held the seat belt.

  Pressing a hand to her heart, she felt the rapid thump, thump, thump of her terror, but she also knew she was alive—and she intended to stay that way.

  Looking around, she realized she saw two of everything. She also felt like puking. That couldn’t stop her, though. She had to move, right now, before Delbert came to.

  If she passed out, who would send help for Reyes?

  She assessed the situation as best she could and determined that first she had to get out from under his deadweight.

  Easier said than done.

  Little by little, she freed her trapped left arm and then her legs. Every small movement hurt, but she used the pain as an impetus. If she could escape, then she could get someone to go back to help Reyes and Jodi. That, as much as her own safety, spurred her to haste.

  Getting out of the car required her climbing over Delbert. She literally held her breath and was thankful when he remained out.

  As she was maneuvering, she spotted his gun jammed up between the dash and the badly cracked windshield. Getting it meant climbing over him again, but she couldn’t leave him armed.

  Unlike Reyes, she wasn’t comfortable putting the thing in her pants, but the windows were shattered, so she tossed it out the driver’s side where she’d have to exit. It landed on the snow-covered ground with a thud.

  She was levering up and out, prayers on her lips, when suddenly Reyes was there, scrambling down the ravine in a hazardous race, his face covered in blood, rage in his eyes.

 

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