“I can do whatever needs to be done.” Sian glanced toward her closet. “I’d already packed a bag—and even have a new identity, just in case I needed it. It’s over there in the closet.”
“I’ll get it,” Mandy said, entering the room. “I’ll also find Sian something warmer than your sweats, Kai.”
Kai picked up Sian’s hand and held it, soothing the palm with his thumb. “Derek, tell Stu to hold at the first rendezvous point. We’ll be there close to the meet time.”
“Gotcha.” Derek mumbled into his collar mike.
“Kai?” Sian’s voice was soft, hesitant.
“Yes, baby.” He smiled, then winked at her.
“I ran because I didn’t trust the Feds,” she said. “I meant what I said. I do trust you...”
“Sian, you don’t have to...”
She reached up and touched his mouth with her fingers. “I do. I was afraid for you, not of you. If you get between me and Brucchi, he’ll kill you just like he killed my neighbor Bill. I couldn’t ... couldn’t stand being responsible for you getting killed.”
Kai closed his eyes as relief surged through him. She cared enough to worry about him, more than herself. Opening his eyes, he said, “Not to worry, baby. I’m meaner and badder than Brucchi could ever be. The man will never get close to you. And when it’s all over he’ll be dead—not you, nor me.”
He brought the hand he held to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist.
“Ready to go. I found these for Sian to wear.” Mandy held up some clothing in her right hand. “Looks like Sian,” his associate shot her a warm, friendly smile, “does some skiing, so she had the right kind of clothes for the cabin.”
“Help her change, would you, Mandy? I’m going to scout around to see if we can get out the easy way—or have to do it the hard.” Kai kissed Sian’s hand one more time. “We’ll be on the road soon. Where we’re going, we’ll have all the advantages. Brucchi will have to play the game my way.”
Chapter Four
At the Days Inn located near a ramp entering the Indiana-Illinois Tollway, Kai parked at the back entrance to the hotel. Sian remained in the car until he checked out the room. Mack was already there. Kai went back to carry Sian in as Mack opened and held the doors.
“Put her on the bed, Kai,” Mack said. “Ms. York, can you remove your outer clothes so that I can take a look at those ribs?” Mack turned to Kai. “You can wait outside.”
“No.” Kai took a seat on the other double bed. “I’m staying.”
“Ms. York?” Mack quizzed her with a lift of one eyebrow.
“Please call me Sian. He’s staying.” Sian shot Mack a glance, laughter briefly lighting pain-filled eyes. “He’s already seen it all.”
Kai coughed, choking back a laugh. “Well put, baby.”
Mack smiled. “Seems this relationship has progressed quite rapidly since I treated Sian earlier today. You move fast, hoss.” Mack punched Kai in the arm. “Now, let’s see if we can patch her up. It’ll take a healthy woman to keep you in line.”
“Oh, I think I can manage.” Sian retorted. “And he can’t move too fast for me. It seems like I’ve been waiting for a man like Kai for eons.”
“A man like me?” Kai raised an eyebrow, curious as to how Sian would describe him.
“A he-man, macho, kick-the-bad-guys-in-the-butt hero.” Sian held out her hand toward him. “And you’re all mine. Right?”
Hot, pulsing lust streaked through Kai’s body like a shot of 200-proof Kentucky bourbon. He could wait—barely—until the cabin to claim the rights she’d just handed him. She trusted—and loved him. What more could a kick-butt hero ask for?
“Damn straight. And you’re all mine.” Kai chuckled and took the hand that Sian held out to him. “Tell him where it hurts, sweetheart.”
Kai turned his gaze toward Mack. “I don’t want her in pain, but we’ve got a long, hard drive ahead of us before we get to where we’re going.” He could feel the evil breathing down his neck. He couldn’t relax his guard—not even to allow Sian to rest and heal. Every second counted in putting distance between them and their pursuers.
Sian squeezed his hand, drawing his attention. “I’ll be fine.” She eyed Mack. “Do your worst, doc. I think my man is in a hurry to be gone.”
Her man. That sounded good. Kai brought her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. Then he helped her unbutton the sweater she wore.
“Ouch.” Sian bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as Mack probed the ugly bruising on her left side.
“Dammit all, Mack. You’re hurting her.” Kai winced in sympathy. He’d had enough bruised ribs to know that they hurt like a son of a bitch.
“Calm down, Kai,” Mack said. “They’re still only bruised as far as I can tell by touch. She seems to be breathing okay.”
“Any sharp pain when you breathe, Sian?” Mack asked.
“No, they only hurt when someone pokes them, sits on them, or I move too quickly,” she quipped.
Mack laughed. “Sounds bruised to me. We’ll tape them up good and tight, to give you some support. That’ll help the unexpected movement pain. As for the poking and sitting on, I would suggest avoiding those maneuvers for about four weeks or so.”
“Thanks, doc.” Sian smiled at him.
Kai forced back the slight pang of jealousy. Her smiles were his, but he couldn’t begrudge one for Mack.
“How about the seat belts? Maybe a down vest to cushion her ribs?” Kai suggested.
Mack nodded. “That’ll work. Try and stop every three to four hours, more often if you can. Let her walk and stretch. Her muscles are going to give her hell.”
“Kai?” Sian tugged on his hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Really.”
“I want you better than fine.” Kai leaned over and planted a kiss on her lush mouth. “Promise me that you’ll let me know if you need to stretch.”
“I promise,” Sian said as she pulled his hand to her mouth and sucked on his knuckles. Heat shot to his loins just imagining those lips on other, more sensitive, parts of his body.
Shit! He was an asshole with sex on the brain. With Sian’s injuries, he wouldn’t be able to make love to her the way he’d like for the foreseeable future. He’d have to demonstrate his love in other ways. He’d set his mind to ways of pampering and pleasuring her while they waited for his trap to be sprung.
* * * *
Kai laid a false trail for any early pursuers by first heading east into Indiana, then backtracking to take the Skyway north into Wisconsin.
He followed the western edge of Lake Michigan, cutting west finally to pick up U.S. 51 into the Upper Peninsula toward the Cisco Chain of Lakes region. There were fifteen lakes, over 271 miles of shoreline, and dozens of small islands in the area.
One of those small islands he’d bought under one of his many aliases as a hideaway from the world. The money had been his reward for shutting down a drug cartel in Brazil without calling the world’s attention to the job. It had been a bloody mess, and one of the last jobs he’d done for the CIA before calling it quits. At least something good had come out of his futile effort to clean up the world—another drug cartel had just moved in and taken over the toppled one’s territory.
His secret island was not known to many—and those that knew he’d trusted with his life many times. No, Brucchi would never find him without an engraved invitation. One he would be more than happy to send when he’d set the trap.
By the time they reached the small launch where he kept his boat, it had started to snow heavily. The snow was coming down at about a half-inch an hour the weather radio reported. Total accumulation would be eight to ten inches.
Thousand Islands Lake where his island was located was slate grey and choppy. He wasn’t worried. He’d taken the boat to the island in worse conditions. They’d make it just fine—and would have the luxury of a few days of peace until he was ready to spring the trap.
Kai pulled into the parking lot o
f the small grocery store/gas station that served the islanders for this part of the lake. He backed his SUV into the assigned slot next to his boat bay.
With the engine idling, he glanced over at Sian.
She had fallen asleep after their last fueling stop about three hours ago. Until that point in the trip, she’d kept him company, sharing interests and backgrounds that had never come up in his visits to her shop. He’d sensed her tiredness and discomfort ever since they’d left Chicago, but she hadn’t complained. Not once.
Not only was his lady gutsy and brave, she was also a stoic. But she didn’t need to be, so at the last stop he’d made her take one of the pain pills Mack had provided. The combination of the meds, her pain, and the stress of the last twenty-four hours had knocked her out in a couple of minutes.
He hated to wake her, but they needed to stock up on provisions and get to the island before the weather worsened.
“Sian,” he called out softly. “Baby, wake up.”
Sian’s nose scrunched, and she mumbled something unintelligible.
Kai stroked a tendril of hair from her cheek. “Baby, we’re here.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek, then nuzzled her ear, whispering into it. “Sian, wake up.”
Sian jerked awake. A startled “oh” escaped her mouth.
Kai swooped in and took possession of her mouth, invading her rounded lips with his tongue. Sian dueled his tongue with her own, uttering tiny moans from the back of her throat. She reached up to clasp his shoulders.
Her sharp inhalation dashed Kai’s ardor like the icy lake water. Her reaching for him had pulled Sian hard against the shoulder harness and across her lower left ribs.
“Damn, baby. I’m sorry.” He kissed her nose as he fumbled to unlock the seatbelt.
“Kai, Kai.” Sian reached for his face and pulled her to him. “I’m fine. It was just a twinge. Don’t ever be sorry for loving me. I just hope you won’t regret it...”
“Hush.” Kai took her lips gently with his, loving her with his mouth. When he released her from the kiss, her face was pink with heightened desire. “I will never regret loving you. I’ve come to the conclusion that it was our fate to meet at this time and place. We’re soul mates.”’
“You’re a romantic!” Sian cried, loving laughter colored her eyes the shade of grass in the Spring. “Do your big, bad CIA friends and enemies know that?”
“No, and you, my love,” he flicked her nose with a gentle finger, “aren’t going to tell them.”
“Never,” she swore solemnly, though her eyes yet betrayed a glint of laughter. Sian winked at him, then looked around. “Where are we? And look at the snow! Damn, I wish my ribs weren’t hurt. I’d love to cross-country ski.”
“Well, you can’t. Not for four weeks anyway, and by then Brucchi will be handled.” Sian’s mouth tightened into a grimace at his choice of words. “Then I’ll take you skiing, cross-country and downhill in the U.P.”
“U.P.?” she asked, stroking a wayward strand of hair off his forehead.
“Upper Peninsula Michigan.” He captured her hand and kissed the palm. “Keep petting me like that and you’ll unleash the beast in me.”
“I thought I was soothing the beast,” she said.
“Baby, your touch lights fires in me and unless you want to see me erupt like Mt. St. Helens, you’ll behave,” he nipped the pad on the palm of her hand, “at least until we get to the island.”
“Island?” Sian stared out the car window at the rough waters of the lake. “In this weather?”
“Trust me?” Kai asked.
Sian looked deeply into his eyes, then finally smiled. “With my life. Now as for the rest of your statement—what about my ribs?”
“Well, I’m very creative when it comes to sex,” Kai said, his voice low and husky. “Just consider me a regular Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci of lovemaking. We’ll do just fine. Okay?”
Sian nodded, her face turning even a brighter shade of pink. “Zoe said something about kink and you—said she heard rumors to that effect.”
Kai laughed. “Don’t worry. Nothing kinky, just pampering and pleasuring.”
“No kinky?” Sian’s eyes turned smoky green. “Well, damn. There go all my moves.”
Kai shouted with laughter. “Well, we can negotiate. Once we get you safely to the island.”
“Deal,” Sian said, pulling his face to hers. “Love me?”
“Yeah—I do.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, baby.” Kai sealed her lips with his own.
* * * *
Sian shook her head for what had to be the hundredth time since Kai had rescued her from Zoe’s attempt at murder. The man loved her. Each time he called her “baby” or some other endearment, Sian had to pinch herself mentally to check if she were dreaming. The man of her dreams—and featured in her nightly fantasies for the six months she’d known him—loved and wanted her enough to take on her nightmare of a life. This couldn’t be real. She was afraid she would wake up and find herself lying on the street, bleeding to death after the attack by Brucchi’s hired assassins.
But she was very much alive. The discomfort from her injuries and the arousal from the kisses and sexual repartee in the SUV not ten minutes earlier proved that. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve this second chance at life—and love—but she was thankful for it.
“Sian?” Kai’s voice shook her out of her fugue state.
“Yes, sweetie?” She walked over to the produce section where Kai manned a cart. God, it was like they were a couple. She pinched herself. Yep, it hurt. She was awake and grocery shopping with Kai, a badass, hunky hero.
Kai stared at her, a look of love on his face that almost made her weep. “What did you call me?”
She frowned. “Sweetie. That’s okay, isn’t it? I can call you something else...”
”Shh.” Kai leaned over and kissed her lips. “It’s fine. I just don’t consider myself very sweet.”
She smiled at him. “If I promise not to call you that in front of the bad guys, is it okay? Can’t spoil your image as a bad-ass dude.” She winked at him, then picked up a head of lettuce and tossed it into the cart. “You do have electricity at this island cabin of yours, right? And a refrigerator?”
“Yep,” he patted her rear, then his hand lingered, fondling her curves. “There’s a generator. We also have a microwave, a freezer, ice maker, a Jacuzzi, a...”
“Okay, okay, enough,” Sian interrupted, laughing. “I get it. All the mod cons. This is good. I am not a camper. My idea of roughing it is a hotel without room service.”
“Don’t worry, baby,” Kai said as he pushed the cart up the aisle. “With me, you’ll always travel first class. Nothing will be too good for you. Nothing.”
Sian tucked her arm through his and helped push the cart. Her body rubbed against his and all she could do was think about later, on the island, alone and safe with him—and what he would do to pamper and pleasure her. And what she wanted to do to him in return.
“Whew, it is hot in here, isn’t it?” Sian said, loosening the opening of her coat with her free hand. “Don’t these people know there is an energy crisis looming?”
Kai stopped in the aisle and looked down at her. Concern creased his brow. “You got a fever, baby? It’s colder than a witch’s tit in this place. Old Zeke keeps the place at 55 degrees in the winter. Says it keeps the produce fresher.”
Sian blushed, then laughed. “No, no fever.” At least not the kind Kai was thinking of. “Let’s hurry. I know you’ve done this trip before in bad weather. But it’s not getting any better out there.”
“Scared? I’ll protect you.”
“I know it. I’m just not a good sailor on the best of days.”
“You’ll be fine,” Kai reassured her.
Yeah, she would. Once they got to the island and they made love for the first time. She’d be more than fine. It was the anticipation that was killing her.
* * * *
The trip to the island seemed like it took hours. The boat, though good-sized for a boat, was airborne at least half the time. The troughs in between the waves were deep, causing the boat to bounce, then drop, then bounce again. Sian’s stomach threatened to come out her throat more than once.
Only Kai’s warmth, reassurances, and concerned glances kept her mouth shut and the screams deep inside. He didn’t need to know that with each bounce of the boat her ribs throbbed like a son-of-a-bitch. He didn’t need the distraction of her pain. He needed all his attention and strength to keep the boat on course and out of trouble.
“We’re almost there, baby.” Kai signaled with a nod of his head. “That spit of land you see ahead and on the right is where we turn into my cove. It’s sheltered there. Should be smoother water for docking.” He glanced at her. She was sure her face was as white as the snow covering the spit of land he’d indicated. “I’ll check your ribs once we get inside. The rough trip might have finished the job that the thug and the bitch had started.”
“How did you know they hurt?” Sian said through clenched teeth, shivering despite the heat blasting in the enclosed control room and the down jacket she wore.
“I just know.” Kai turned his face forward. “I should have killed the bastard when I had the chance.”
His angry growl startled Sian. “Which bastard?”
“The one that bruised your ribs.” Kai snorted his disgust. “I could’ve killed him so easily, and no one would’ve been the wiser.”
Sian touched his arm, stroking it. “You would’ve known, though.”
“Sian, uh ... I’ve killed before,” Kai said in flat, deadly, matter-of-fact tone. He avoided her concerned gaze. A muscle moved in his tensed jaw.
“I know.” She rubbed her cheek against his arm, holding onto him with both hands. “I’ll never judge you for doing your job.”
“I’m going to kill Brucchi,” he said it in the same toneless voice.
“I figured.” Sian snuggled closer to his warmth, hoping that her touch would soothe his soul. “It’s the only way.”
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