Tilting my head back, I let a small sip of the whiskey slide down my throat. Electric tingles shuddered along my legs. Warmth seared, hollowing out my bones, leaving them weakened as I caught Nik’s intense stare again. Flickers of fire spread out from my stomach, reaching down into my sex, at the way his green eyes feasted on me. I envisioned him crossing the wood floors between us and sucking the whiskey off my lips…taking his hand to bury it in the warmth spreading between my thighs.
Oh screw being careful… I closed my eyes and lifted my chin, dropping my head back as I rushed the remaining liquor inside of me. The quivers and tingles rocked through me again, followed by a slow burn traveling under my skin, numbing my fingers and my brain.
At Titan’s bark, my eyes snapped open to see Nik looking down at him. From Nik’s smile it seemed he welcomed the distraction. “Need a drink, too, huh? Sorry, fella, just water for you.”
My spine softened at the dropped connection, but the upset was quickly replaced by curiosity in the heaviness my muscles had taken on, the way my fingertips pulsed. They were mine and yet I felt detached from this body. It still belonged to someone else. To her.
Nik strode to the kitchen where he filled a bowl with water and set it on the floor. To me, he said, “You should probably get in the bath. The soreness you’re feeling now is only going to get worse if you don’t.”
“I’m feeling pretty good right now, actually,” I murmured as I set the empty shot glass on the counter.
“I bet.” His drawled voice was a mixture of smooth and rough, and had the same effect on me as the alcohol. “But it won’t last.”
“Maybe I should have another then.”
“Not a chance,” he said with a stern clip and a flash of flex.
I laughed and as I turned away, my gaze dropped to the floor, where I spotted a women’s purse jutting out of Nik’s bag.
“What’s this? Is it mine?”
“I’m guessing you had it in your possession. Titan must’ve grabbed it.”
“Had it in my possession? Are you suggesting I stole it?”
“If anything, I’m suggesting your dog stole it.”
I didn’t dare glance up to see the smirk I was certain he was flashing. None of this was funny. I dumped the contents of the purse out on the kitchen counter. One look at the wad of cash and the ID in the exotic leather wallet and I knew the purse hadn’t belonged to me. She’d most likely stolen it.
“We need to find out who Seraphina Westin is, get all this back to her.” Maybe if I returned her stuff to her quickly, she wouldn’t press charges.
“It’s possible you didn’t steal anything. Could be a fake ID.”
As if impersonating someone else was better. “Thanks to the morning news, we know I’m old enough to do whatever and whoever I damn well please, including you.” He straightened up, but before he could offer up a redo of our hotel bathroom encounter, I continued, “So the only reason I’d need a fake ID is if I was pretending to be someone else.”
I studied the photo on the driver’s license. With a black, shoulder-length wig with bangs and enough makeup, I could maybe pass for the striking woman in the photo. Probably. I tossed it aside.
Yep, even she didn’t want to be her.
Nik had yet to respond. Whether he was still considering my comment about ‘doing’ him or he had no counter for why I’d need a fake ID, I wasn’t sure and didn’t care.
I lifted the roll of money. “How much do you think this is?”
“A lot. Ten, fifteen grand? Maybe more.”
My stomach turned at the amount and suddenly I became the speechless one. Gun, money, fake ID… Grand Theft Canine had been only the beginning. She had me so far in over my head I couldn’t see straight. All the blood had rushed from my brain and pooled heavily in my gut.
Nik’s hand lightly clasped my elbow. “Thea, I know this is overwhelming. But don’t jump to wild conclusions. Let me see what I can find out while you’re in the ice bath.”
“Wait…a what kind of what?”
“Ice. Bath. A bathtub filled with cold water and ice.”
“Are you messing with me? Ice bath? I was sure I’d heard you wrong before.”
He lowered his eyes to his hand, still wrapped around my arm. My eyes dropped, slowly taking in the muscles of his forearms, the dark hair and the hard tendons, the thick veins in his large hands, his strong fingers. Fingers I’d moments before imagined being inside of me, now curled as his thumb stroked along the sensitive skin along the inside of my elbow.
“Something’s gotta cool things off around here.” His eyes lifted, meeting mine. His lips twisted as he flashed a dimple I’d never seen before. The slashed hint of it caught me so off guard, I momentarily forgot the purse, my predicament, and his ludicrous idea of a bath and instead became acutely aware of the warmth of his touch and the heat spooling between my thighs. Cool things off…
Yeah, good luck with that.
* * * *
Nik filled a five-gallon bucket from the industrial-sized icemaker in the workout room of his walk-out basement. He’d restarted it when he’d come through the day before to de-winterize the cabin after his deployment. Hefting the bucket up, he poured the cubes into the cold tub water. Ice baths were standard procedure after he and Coop or Leo had beat each other raw practicing Combat Jiujitsu, Sayoc Kali, Krav Maga or whatever other martial arts moves Leo had taught them to improve their close-quarters combat skills. If you could handle just a few minutes of the cold, there was nothing better to keep the aches and pain at bay.
He closed the bathroom door, leaving Thea to soak for as long as she could stand. Given the curses he heard her muttering, he doubted she’d gut it out for more than a few seconds.
After opening a bottle of water, he flipped on his computer and started running basic checks, like Googling Thea’s name. Nik’s mind worked to fit the pieces together. The gun, the money, the thumb drive, the German shepherd, the black SUV, the blood, the lack of easy info on her, her toughness, her intelligence. Was Thea Gale really such a puzzle, though?
From the way she’d held her gun on him in the hotel room and the tactical way she’d maneuvered in the video, she wasn’t your average Kansas farm girl. Being the betting man he was, his money was split between Langley Farm Girl or on her having gone down the yellow brick road at Quantico.
But there was always the possibility she was merely your run-of-the-mill bad girl on steroids who’d stolen a shit ton of money and broken her canine pal out of doggy jail.
All options came with their own unique can of worms.
Social media pages came up blank. The Action Eight News story didn’t have any new details about Thea, except to say how the story had sparked an all-time high number of adoptions at the facility, with more expected over the weekend. Even the red-tagged animals had been given reprieve by a couple of local veterinarians and trainers who were willing to provide medical procedures, training, and fostering until the animals could safely find new homes.
Nik scanned the comments under the original video, most of which called for willing adopters, commented on how hot Thea was, or hilariously poked fun at the lying employee and his pathetic mustache. But Nik stopped on one commenter asking if Thea Gale was the sister of Amanda Gale. Figures some random commenter would provide more of a lead than the actual news reporters.
A search on Amanda Gale came up with several hits for a kidnapping fifteen years prior. A ten-year-old Thea had been the sole witness of her older sister Amanda’s rape and abduction from her bedroom in their upscale home.
Fuuuuck.
Nik scrubbed his forehead. He rolled his neck, trying to release the sudden tension as he researched further. One year prior, another girl, Margaret Anne Miller, had been abducted from the same peaceful, idyllic neighborhood. While there were many similarities between the two cases, investigators never could prove they were linked.
Through a quick look at various news stories, Nik was able to piece some things tog
ether. Two years after Amanda was abducted, Maggie’s remains had been discovered along with clothing and DNA belonging to Amanda. Believing the worst, Thea’s family had laid Amanda’s memory to rest. Her empty coffin had been buried amidst the divorce of Thea’s parents.
Early on in the investigation, Thea’s father had been a suspect in both kidnappings. He was cleared when DNA tests on clothing recovered with Maggie’s body had led to the conviction of a man named Danny Dalton, who ultimately died in prison. Even with being cleared, Thea’s father had committed suicide soon after the divorce finalized. Thea’s mother had died a year later, leaving Thea parentless at thirteen.
Most of the news stories had photos of Amanda, a few of her father and mother, but Thea’s picture was only included with one of the articles. Nik’s chest caved as he eyed Thea at ten years old astride a buckskin dun horse. He’d been hoping he was on the wrong track and all these horror stories were about some other girl’s family. The lone photo proved this was in fact the same girl he’d pulled from the tornado wreckage.
Thea’s childhood should’ve been some of the best years of her life, and instead they had been scarred with one horrifying trauma after another. She’d been right—her memory loss had happened for a reason. A very good one. No one should have to live with any of this, let alone all of it. She was also right about there being no family to contact. His stomach clenched, as he knew the feeling all too well.
The buzzing of his phone became incessant. Coop needing an update on the fictitious car repairs, stat. The man had a wealth of patience was when he was behind a sniper’s rifle, but since retiring, and especially in the last few months, he’d become exasperating.
Nik: Worse than I thought, I’ll let you know tomorrow.
Nik hated lying to his best friend, but he wasn’t about to get Coop or his brother Leo involved until he knew more.
Coop: You fucking kidding me right now?
Crap.
Whatever crazy shenanigans his friend and former teammate had arranged for this vacation, there was little doubt he’d organized it all for Nik. Coop knew better than most what Nik would be dealing with, between Will’s death and coming off of deployment with civilian life hanging over him.
‘Twas like a lion at my door. Coop often repeated the ominous line from the poem, “The Man of Double Deed”, whenever he had trouble transitioning to civilian life. But right now Coop was the lion at Nik’s door.
Nik really didn’t want to let Coop or Leo down. They’d become his family after he’d lost his own. But what was he supposed to do? Tell Thea, ‘Hey, sorry. You’re on your own. I’ve got to go drink it up with my buddies for a couple of weeks on an island somewhere.’ The time for that had been back at the tornado site when the cop had come around. Grimacing, he typed back.
Nik: Sorry, dude. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Start without me.
He opened a new search engine and tried ‘Thea Gale’ again. This time he hit on a wedding registry site. His gut churned as he clicked on it. The page popped up with the chest-ramming punch of what might as well have been a C-4 explosion.
Clayton Kenyon and Thea Gale engaged.
Chapter Fourteen
Air left Nik’s lungs in a whoosh. His pulse thumped at the back of his throat. All he could see were those six words confirming what he’d feared—Thea belonged with someone else.
Shouldn’t matter.
Wasn’t like he was looking to get involved. In fact, just the opposite—he needed to disentangle himself from this situation and get back on the road. Text Coop and Leo and tell them he was on his way.
Before his selfish brain could construct an argument against finding Thea’s fiancé, Nik shook the thought from his mind and started searching for this Clayton guy’s contact info. The right thing to do was to get in touch with him and let him know where Thea was. She needed to be with someone who knew of any remaining family, friends, where she worked, lived. Anything at all about her.
Titan whimpered out a bark, breaking through the impact rocking Nik’s brain. The dog clawed at the closed bathroom door. Shit! Nik bolted out of his chair. Without pausing to knock, he shoved the door open to find Thea slumped against the bathtub’s wall, shaking. No telling how long she’d actually been in the water, but clearly it had been way too long. He plunged his arms into the icy water and scooped her trembling body up against his. The sting of cold singed his skin.
“Come back to me,” he commanded.
Her teeth rattled behind lips that had lost their soft-pink color. Air rasped fiercely from her lungs and her heart beat way too fast. “Shit, shit, shit. Come on, Thea. Stay with me,” he implored. “Come on, baby.”
Her eyes blankly fixated on things not in this world.
He sat on the tub’s edge, holding her body close to his with one arm and with the other he reached back and jerked his T-shirt over his head. Icy skin branded his chest, but he pressed into the pain, awkwardly trying to get her body flush with his. He dabbed the dry cotton against her, taking care not to abrade her already reddened skin. When the shirt became too wet, he leaned over, grappling for towels to wrap around her back.
“I’ve got you, baby. Stay with me.” He cinched his arms around her, constricting her.
Please, please, please.
He feared standing up from the bathtub’s edge, but needed to get heat packs out of the first-aid kit. Everyone’s body reacted differently to temperature and duration, it was hard to say how serious things were, but for Nik it felt entirely too damn serious. Shifting contact even for a second wasn’t an option he was ready to risk yet.
“Talk to me. Let me know you’re all right.”
Slurred words dripped from Thea’s pale lips. He grasped another towel and cocooned the lower half of her body, tightly wrapping it like a mermaid’s tail. Then tucked her hands in his armpit. But his skin, now frozen from the cold it’d pulled from hers, was useless to heat her anymore. Fuck!
He held back from turning on the hot water and pouring it over her. The shock would be too much. No, he knew exactly what to do and what not to do. He needed to stay calm. He was trained for all manner of survival, but still he railed against being utterly helpless as he waited.
He should’ve cautioned her more, told her not to stay in the icy water for too long. Hell, he’d said the opposite—stay as long as you can stand it. Given her concussion, he should’ve stayed with her. He definitely shouldn’t have served her a double shot of whiskey beforehand. Shit! What had he done to her?
He rearranged Thea’s body against his, pressing her as flush against him as he could. Any exposed skin he covered in dry towels. Checking her pulse again, he found it still rapid, but coming down. “There’s my tough tiger. You’re doing so good. Stay with me.”
He worked to calm his own ragged breathing, hoping her body would sync up to his. Her trembling weakened the tighter he held her, but her lungs still scraped air between her chattering teeth.
“Come on, Tigger, we’re going to go on a little bounce, okay?”
Her chin bobbed, but her eyes remained closed. Maneuvering again, he changed his grip and stood. Gathering her to his chest, he carried her through the living room and kitchen, then down the stairs to his first-aid station. Titan stayed hot on his heels, whimpering and crying.
Without dropping contact, Nik eased Thea on the counter. One hand kept her pressed against him while the other dug through the first-aid shelves, sifting out heat packs. He ripped the packages open with his teeth, then bent them with one hand to activate them before tucking them against the arteries under her arms.
Whether friend or stranger, he normally had no trouble remaining detached and professional while administering treatment. Even with Will as he died. People trusted a firm command over emotional pleas, plus it kept him focused on what needed to get done. But controlling his emotions with Thea was impossible.
Rationally, he believed she’d be fine, but he couldn’t get a grip on the fear of her slipping away from hi
m the way Will had. Her body had been through so much already, it might not be able to withstand more trauma.
“Open your eyes, baby,” he found himself pleading.
He kissed warmth across her forehead, her eyelids. He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t have yet another person he cared about leave him. “Please, baby. Let me check your eyes.”
“Nik?” she croaked out under her breath.
He felt a kick in his chest, relief knocking the air back into his lungs. “I’m right here, Thea. I’m not going anywhere.”
He adjusted, tucking her body flush to his, the towels slipping with every maneuver. His body heat, which had fired up carrying her through the house, was far better for her than cotton towels. He’d make do with constantly securing them instead of fully wrapping her. Sliding his hand to her wrist, he checked her pulse again. Her eyes flicked open and soon registered his presence as he inspected them. He let out a slow breath. “There’s my girl.”
Not yours… His brain flashed back to the engagement announcement. The reminder hit him as hard as seeing her slumped in the tub had. The difference between the two—he was only trained to handle the latter.
“Always checking my eyes, you,” she mocked groggily.
Unable to summon any humor, he countered with, “I’ll stop checking your eyes when you stop trying to die on me. Exactly how many of those tiger lives you got left, anyway?”
He scooped her off the counter and carried her into the living room, Titan following close behind. Grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch, he draped her in it, compressing her as tight as he could while lowering himself down to the oversized couch. Positioning her between his legs, he reclined into the armrest and pushed out a calming breath.
At Thea’s squirming, Nik eyed Titan poking her blanket-wrapped feet with his snout. The poor beast looked as terrified as Nik had been. Nik lifted his chin, indicating it was okay for him to get up on the couch. The more warmth the better. Besides, Titan had been the one to alert him to her condition, so he owed the dog.
Twist My Heart Page 9