Perilous Games (Gray Tower Book 3)

by J. M. Brister

  “Uh-oh. Don’t you think you’re letting your emotions run wild? I understand she used to be your fiancée, but this might be taking it too far.”

  Paul shrugged.

  “It’ll be fine. We’ll visit them. That’s it.”

  Rodriguez shook his head and said, “I have a feeling that this is a bad idea.”

  “We’ll see.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Ashlen opened her eyes and smiled.

  Wow, she thought as she stretched out in Mercer’s bed.

  After he had taken her in the shower, they had moved back to his bedroom. It hadn’t taken him long to get aroused again, and he had taken her at the edge of the bed. At this point, she was so relaxed that she could barely move.

  Mercer was lying next to her, breathing slowly, eyes closed. He was such a handsome man. He was also a very tender man, though he tried as hard as he could to mask that. She was starting to understand now that his service to the United States was some of the causes of his moods, his anger. She wondered what he had experienced. He had mentioned the roadside bomb that had not only messed him up but had killed two of his men. Any time she started asking him questions about that, he got quite moody.

  She knew deep down that there was something more to him than just the anger. He had been too tender and gentle with her at times. Yeah, he had got a little wild with her in the shower, but she knew that he wouldn’t get so rough that he’d hurt her.

  Yeah, you’ve fallen for this guy, she realized. And when this time is finally over and Marino has gotten whatever he wanted, this guy is going to kick you to the curb.

  The realization hurt when she thought about it. How could she care so much about someone who didn’t share the same feelings?

  Oh well.

  She had some time with the guy, and she was going to enjoy herself. Mercer was a welcome distraction from the stress of having to hide out from a man who had ordered her kidnapping.

  “What’s wrong?” Mercer asked.

  Ashlen flinched, not realizing that he was awake.

  She shifted her body so that she was facing him. They were both still naked. He looked amazing stretched out next to her. She still couldn’t get enough of his body.

  “I was just thinking about Marino.”

  It was only a slight lie. She didn’t want to bother him with discussing relationship crap. He wasn’t the type who would want that discussion.

  Mercer rolled his body alongside her, his torso over hers. He stared down into her eyes.

  “Listen, I know that you’re in a bad situation right now,” he murmured, drawing a kiss along her neck.

  She squeezed her eyes shut, realizing that she was crying. A hot tear trickled down her face. She didn’t know what she was crying about: Marino’s attempted kidnapping of her or the rollercoaster ride that was Mercer Cade. Mercer wiped the tear away with a thumb.

  “I want you to know that I’m going to keep you safe, okay?” He continued. “Despite what I’ve told you, you do know that I care about you, right?”

  Ashlen nodded. She could see that he had struggled to tell her that, but she also knew that he was telling the truth.

  “Why don’t you try and forget about all that shit for a little bit?” He asked her. “I’ll even make you breakfast.”

  She tried to smile a bit and finally said through a tear-choked voice, “That sounds nice.”

  “Good. Although I may need another shower again…You seem to keep getting me sweaty, baby,” he said, a grin forming on his face.

  Was that a joke? Her mood brightened even more.

  So, they both showered, Mercer going first, so he could get breakfast started quicker. They decided to shower separately this time because they both figured that they would never get to breakfast if they did. When it was Ashlen’s turn, she showered, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and did everything to make her feel a little more human again. She even made both of their beds, though she hoped that they would be messing up the covers again very soon.

  When she finally walked out to the living area, dressed in jeans and a black tank, she had to pause and collect herself when she saw Mercer. He had showered and shaved, his black hair still damp. He was a gorgeous man, his scars just made him look a little edgy. He was wearing his typical Mercer Cade black fitted t-shirt that showed off the muscles in his arms a little too well and a pair of dark wash jeans. When she approached him, she could smell his clean, masculine scent.

  He handed her a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. That was, of course, his type of breakfast. She would have preferred fruit and yogurt, but he was a pretty decent cook. She wouldn’t mind.

  Breakfast had been exceptionally good. When they had finished, the least she could do was offer to clean the dishes. It had been when she was finishing up with the dishes when things started to get hairy.

  “Turn off the water,” he told her suddenly. When she did, he cocked his head slightly as if listening. Then, Ashlen heard it too.

  “There’s a car coming up the drive,” she murmured, her heart pounding

  “No one should be coming from my people,” Mercer said.

  Ashlen’s heart started pounding harder. Mercer went straight to the case with his carbine and opened it.

  “Go get my handgun,” he ordered her.

  Without hesitation, she sprinted to his bedroom and picked up his gun. When she returned, he had the table tipped over with him behind it, his carbine pointing toward the hallway with the two points of entry: the front door and the hallway that led to the garage.

  “Now go to the bathroom and lock yourself in,” he told her. “Do NOT open it until I come and get you, understand?”

  Ashlen couldn’t even remember if she had acknowledged him as she bolted to the bathroom. When she had shut and locked the door, she crouched on the floor and waited tensely.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Paul was anxious as he drove up the driveway to the cabin in the North Carolina mountains that would hopefully lead him to Ashlen. The driveway was empty, but there was a garage situated to the side of the house. They could still be there.

  He parked the Taurus and then got out with Rodriguez following. The two men walked up the pathway of the sprawling log cabin in the picturesque mountainous area. Paul had to admit that it was a beautiful place to live. Perhaps Ashlen was on vacation with that Cade guy as had been suggested to him? The thought made him shudder.

  Don’t think about her having sex with that guy, he thought. Besides, that could have been you if you hadn’t blown it big time with her.

  “I’ll be the one to knock,” Paul told his partner, stepping up to the front door. “You back me up if necessary.”

  Rodriguez nodded and said, “I figured as much.”

  When they got into position, Paul said a silent prayer and then went into professional mode.

  “FBI!” Paul yelled from the front door. “Open up. We need to talk to you.” When there came no answer, Paul continued, “If you do not open the door, we’ll have to break it.”

  Rodriguez gave a low growl and said, “Are you kidding me, Anderson? We don’t have a warrant for this! This is about as illegal as you can get!”

  There was no answer from inside.

  Paul hushed him with a finger, saying, “I have to know that she’s okay.”

  Rodriguez snorted.

  “I will be throwing you under the bus if this goes badly,” he told his partner.

  “I know. I don’t care.”

  Paul studied the door. It only seemed to be locked through a normal lock. No deadbolt. It should be easy enough to kick in. Hell, most residential locks were meant to make the people inside feel better about themselves, not to keep people out.

  “Do we need to get something to help with the door?” Rodriguez asked, looking a bit nervous.

  “Nah, I got it,” Paul reassured his partner.

  It took two swift kicks before Paul kicked the door in. Paul peeked around the corner to survey the area. There was a
n entryway that led into an open space dining area, living room, and kitchen. All areas appeared to be clear.

  With a set of quick movements, side-arm drawn, Paul entered the house. The dining room table had been knocked over, almost like a protective barrier.

  “Cade, it’s the FBI,” Paul called out. “Why don’t you come out, hands up, and we can talk?”

  Paul could feel Rodriguez shifting his position to be right at the door. Paul stepped in the entryway farther, weapon still drawn, eyes scanning the area further. It was when Paul slowly moved farther into the house that he saw the movement coming from the kitchen.

  He turned quickly, gun pointed at the movement, and he came face to face with what had to be Mercer Cade with a mean-looking carbine pointed right at him.

  The pictures didn’t do Cade justice: the scars made him look like a scary son of a bitch. The carbine pointed straight at Paul made Cade look even more dangerous. Unfortunately for Paul, he knew that Cade knew how to use that weapon.

  Fuck, was the only thing that ran through Paul’s mind.

  Chapter 15

  Mercer stared across at the man who had barged in the cabin with his Glock 22 out and ready to go. The only reason why Mercer hadn’t put a bullet through the man’s head was the fact that he had said he was FBI, and Mercer was not ready to shoot down someone who might be a Fed. The paperwork would be a bitch.

  Well, he at least looked like a Fed, but that didn’t mean anything. The man was in a dark blue tailored suit, possibly a designer one. His brown hair was neatly cut. The man was tall and fairly built, though not nearly as tall as Mercer. The man looked a little too dressed up in Mercer’s opinion. He was a pretty boy.

  There wasn’t any malice in the man’s eyes, but there did look to be something. Desperation maybe?

  “Cade, drop your weapon,” Pretty Boy told him. “It doesn’t have to go down like this. Drop your weapon, and we can work a deal.”

  Mercer tried to wet his lips slightly but realized that his mouth had gone dry. Ashlen was depending on him to make the right decision. He could not allow her to be snatched up by Marino’s men. The man would not go easy with her. Mercer would not be able to live with himself if anything happened to her.

  You’re in love with her, he realized.

  He had thought it had been just lust. He had tried to convince himself that it was just two people fucking. But no, he was head over heels in love with her.

  And he had to do the right thing. For her.

  “You said you were FBI?” Mercer finally asked, his voice sounding odd in his ears.

  “Yes,” Pretty Boy replied.

  “Prove it,” Mercer ordered.

  At that moment, another person came around the first man’s side, handgun pointed at him as well. This man looked Hispanic with caramel-colored skin, a similar neat-and-tidy haircut, and another suit, though his seemed a little more practical and less designer-cut than the first man’s suit.

  “Watch your wingman,” Mercer growled.

  “Rodriguez, why don’t you put down your gun and show him your badge?” Pretty Boy offered.

  “Rodriguez” slowly lowered his gun and fished for a badge with one hand in his inside jacket pocket. The badge that he flipped appeared to be an FBI badge.

  “Satisfied?” Pretty Boy asked, his gun still steadily pointed at Mercer.

  Reluctantly, Mercer said, “I’m going to put down my weapon. Don’t get trigger happy.”

  “Good,” Pretty Boy told him.

  Meanwhile, Rodriguez had raised his handgun, and it was now pointing at Mercer again.

  Slowly and steadily, Mercer sat down his carbine on the granite countertop in the kitchen and raised his hands in the air.

  “Your side-arm as well,” Pretty Boy ordered.

  Mercer slowly pulled out his back-up 9mm from his shoulder holster and set it down carefully by the carbine as well. He raised his hands back up in the air.

  “On the floor, face down,” Pretty Boy ordered again.

  As soon as Mercer lowered himself to the floor, which was quite painful with his knee acting up, he felt Pretty Boy lunge to get on top of him.

  “Hands behind your back,” Pretty Boy ordered.

  Mercer complied, feeling a set of handcuffs slap down painfully around his wrists.

  “Where is she?” Pretty Boy demanded as he checked to see if the cuffs were secure.

  There was no need for clarification. Mercer knew exactly who this FBI agent was talking about: Ashlen.

  “Bathroom, down the hall to my right side,” Mercer reluctantly told him.

  “Rodriguez, watch Cade while I find Ashlen,” Pretty Boy told his partner.

  Before Mercer could let Agent Pretty Boy leave to get Ashlen, he growled, “You’d better be prepared for the shit you just started here.”

  “I plan on it,” Pretty Boy replied.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Ashlen huddled in the dark of the bathroom. She had heard a lot of commotion in the outside area, which made her scared—really scared. She couldn’t tell what was exactly going on outside of the bathroom. At least no shots had been fired. She could be thankful for that.

  So, Ashlen sat in the bathroom and shook and cried. She was so afraid, not just for herself but for Mercer. If anything happened to him, she wouldn’t know what to do.

  Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. She tensed at the sound.

  Then, a muffled voice yelled, “Ashlen!”

  She wasn’t sure whose voice it was, but she knew it wasn’t Mercer’s. So, she stayed crouched on the floor. She had been shaking so badly that she didn’t think that she could get up anyhow.

  Ashlen heard a BANG, BANG, BANG as she heard the door being kicked in. It took only a few horrifying moments before the door was knocked in. A few pools of light from the hallway trickled in. Ashlen could only see a looming shadow overhead.

  When the shadow came down upon her, she kicked and screamed and scratched at what she could. The shadow was persistent, finding her arms and holding her down. She screamed and in a final, desperate attempt, bit down into one of the shadow’s limbs.

  “Ash, stop it!” A disturbingly familiar male voice commanded.

  Her teeth unclamped from the shadow’s arms, and she felt her body go limp.

  No, it couldn’t be, she thought.

  She felt the shadow’s weight come off her. Then the lights of the bathroom flicked on. When her eyes adjusted to the sudden light, she stared at the figure that loomed over her.

  He had changed so much, yet he hadn’t changed at all.

  Paul.

  Suddenly, things got fuzzy for Ashlen, and she found it hard to focus. Then, everything turned black.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “Ashlen!” Paul exclaimed.

  When he had flipped on the lights and saw her on the floor, her hair a mess, her expression frightened, his heart almost melted right there.

  She had been wild when he had tried to get to her. She had kicked and scratched and punched and bitten to try to get away from him. He rubbed the area on his hand that she had bitten. Shit, she had broken skin. What the hell had Mercer Cade done to her to make what was once such a sweet girl into a fighter?

  When she had fainted, Paul had nearly lost it. So much time had passed since he had last seen her. Four years had made her look even more incredible. He had been such a fool for hurting her. But he’d make it up to her.

  I’ve got you now, Ash. No one is going to hurt you now, Paul thought.

  He had scooped her limp body up and carried her out into the living space.

  “We’re gonna need an ambulance,” Paul told Rodriguez.

  Cade was now standing, hands cuffed behind his back, when Paul and Ashlen had arrived. Paul was now sure that Rodriguez had called for back-up, and there was sure to be a shitstorm from here on out. He didn’t care, though. Ashlen had been in trouble after all, and he had gotten her out of it.

  Rodriguez looked at Ashlen and then looked back at Paul
before saying, “On it.”

  Paul glared over to Mercer Cade as he stood there stoically. When he saw Ashlen, his expression darkened. Pure rage emanated from the man.

  “What the fuck did you do to her?” Cade demanded, suddenly railing against Rodriguez.

  Paul assumed that it was only a half-attempt as Rodriguez got him under control quickly. He was sure that if Cade wanted to, he could try and take on both men, even with his hands behind his back.

  “Funny, that was the same question I was going to ask you, Cade,” Paul growled.

  It was obvious to him that this man had done his worst to Ashlen. Now, Paul was quite pleased that this creep was going to pay.

  Suddenly, Ashlen stirred in Paul’s arms.

  “She’s waking up,” Paul said and set her down gently on the hardwood floor of the cabin’s main living area.

  Ashlen’s eyes snapped open. Then, she started to struggle again, flailing all her limbs against him.

  “Ash, it’s Paul,” he told her. “Stop struggling. You’re okay. I’m with the FBI.”

  That seemed to settle her down a little bit but not by much.

  “Mercer!” Ashlen exclaimed.

  She tried to sit up, but Paul held her down.

  “He’s not going to hurt you again, Ash,” Paul told her. “Don’t move. Paramedics are going to check you out.”

  “No! Mercer!” She screamed.

  The more commotion Ashlen made, the more worked up Cade became as Rodriguez attempted to lead him out of the cabin and to the security of their car. The man was making a good show of how freaking strong a Marine could be, even in handcuffs and being under the supervision of Rodriguez.

  “Get him out of here!” Paul exclaimed and his partner complied.

  Before Cade was pushed out the door, he muttered, “This is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made.”

  “Likewise,” Paul growled and turned his attention toward Ashlen.

  He glanced down at her body, noticing a bruised wrist that was turning all sorts of colors.

  “Ash, he’s not going to hurt you. I promise,” Paul told her.

  She was quiet for a moment, then she looked up at him and said, “Paul…Mercer wouldn’t hurt me. He’s here to protect me. You can’t take him away. He’s done nothing wrong.”