Sworn to Protect

by Diana Gardin

  I slide my phone over to him but there’s no way I can sit down again. Instead, I pace the small space, listening as Grisham starts to strategize.

  “Brains.” Grisham addresses me with such a serious note in his voice that I pause in my pacing and glance at him. “I hate to ask this, but…can you handle this? There’s a reason why teams like us aren’t supposed to execute rescue missions for our own families.”

  Three sets of eyes focus on me. My jaw tenses, every muscle in my body going rigid with irritation. I feel like an open fucking wound; the extreme rawness of my emotions scrapes with each painful reference to my own capability.

  “Ghost. I want you to listen to me.” Each word is succinct for perfect clarity. “There’s no way in hell anybody can keep me from going after them. I’m on this mission. Period. Let’s get a plan in place so we can stop sitting around. Now.”

  He studies me for a minute, his pensive gaze probing, before he finally lifts a tattooed arm in a “come here” gesture. Gathering around him, we all stare down at the devices.

  “The location is densely wooded. It’s kind of the perfect hiding spot, way up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The town borders Tennessee and North Carolina, and it’s known for its nearly impassible road conditions in winter. We’re damn lucky that there’s no ice and snow to contend with right now, because if there were we wouldn’t be able to drive in at all.”

  With a groan, my head falls back . “I know that area. Used to go there a lot as a kid.”

  Grisham glances up, surprised. “Good. The fact that you know the terrain will help. We’ll drive in, test out the lay of the land. It’s probably good we’re gonna have the Land Cruiser. We’ll probably need to take Dare’s truck, too, since this is a rescue mission.”

  From the floor beside the table, Night looks up and gives a short, low bark.

  Grisham grins. “Yeah, we’ll use Night, too. If they’re not inside a residence, he can follow a scent.”

  Nodding, I crouch down and pat Night on his blocky head. “Yeah. He’s good at that.”

  “We don’t know until we get there whether they’re being held in a house or a cabin, or some kind of facility. I don’t like the idea of going in blind, of not having time to conduct surveillance first. So none of us can afford to be emotional. Cool heads here, you understand?”

  Grisham’s looking at me, but I know he’s addressing everyone. When one of our own is taken, it affects the entire team. I’m not the only one who’s feeling this in my gut. The other guys are like my brothers. They know what’s at stake, and all of our emotions are running high.

  We all nod. “Roger that.”

  The glass door to the service station opens, and the tall, lanky mechanic in gray coveralls lumbers over. “All set.”

  I head straight to the cashier and pull out my credit card. By the time I’m finished paying for the tires and service, Dare, Ronin, and Grisham are headed out the door. Night sits, waiting for me.

  Resting a hand on his head, I crouch down and look him in the eye. His are blue, deep, and full of trust and understanding.

  “Ready, Night? Let’s go bring our family home.”

  32

  Wagner

  Pure, unadulterated exhilaration.

  That’s what I feel when I’m lying on top of Rayne Alexander.

  The feel of her tight little body all fueled up and ready to go beneath mine offers me a tiny window to the pleasure she’s going to bring me.

  Her thigh is firm and supple beneath my hand. Squeezing it sends a jolt of need straight to my dick, and the erection that was previously interested, is now raging and painful. Her face, contorted in anger and fear, calls to me. She’s like a perfect doll, gorgeous and flawless and ready to be molded to my very own design.

  Just like a software program, I can create her to my exact specifications.

  Her chest heaves beneath me, pushing her plush breasts against my chest in a way that nearly makes me lose my mind. If I were a lesser man, a weaker man, I’d take her right now.

  But I can’t let the fire her body and her fear creates inside me lure me away from the true goal. My company is on the verge of greatness. I’ve signed on the dotted line. But there’s another piece of the bargain that I have yet to deliver on. And after I do, I can take my new little project far away from here and get started making my life perfect, with the perfect woman by my side.

  She tastes like silk and sugar, with a hint of darkness. That darkness is what I’m going to cultivate, stretch, intensify. By the time I’m through with Rayne, she’ll be a writhing mass of wanton need, there to serve me.

  I use a finger to trace the heart-shaped outline of her lips. “I can feel the way your body responds to me. The same way you just agreed to my terms, your body will merge with my plan.”

  Her delicious shudder stokes my fire.

  Turning her head to one side, she plays coy. “I want to check on my son.”

  Ah. Getting rid of the brat is the first step. His presence here couldn’t be helped, but he’s too much of a distraction. I want nothing to do with him. I’m more than happy to shift him into the hands that have requested him. More than happy.

  With a pained sigh, I push off the bed and straighten my sweater. My raging hard-on is going to be impossible to calm, especially if I continue to stare at her while she scoots off the bed and fixes her clothes. Licking my lips, I turn away from the sight of her and grasp myself, squeezing until the pain overwhelms the needy ache.

  When I’m finally limp, I clear my throat and turn back toward Rayne. Offering her what I hope is a friendly smile, I proffer my hand. “Shall we?”

  Ignoring my hand, she heads for the bedroom door. A smile twists my lips.

  Oh, yes. I’ll enjoy beating that sass right out of her.

  She runs to the boy when she sees him, sitting on the couch with a dramatically wounded expression on his face. Rolling my eyes, I stride to my phone and remove it from the charger. Pulling up the contact information I’m searching for, I wait for an answer.

  “Yes?” The voice on the other end of the line has become so familiar over the past few months.

  Turning away from Rayne, I lower my voice. “Our deal is about to be complete.”

  “Is that right? I’ve been waiting. I’ll send a driver to retrieve him. Better yet, I’ll come. I’m nearby. Make sure he’s outside in an hour.”

  With a smile, I turn back to face the room and lift my voice higher. “Yes, I will pay you very handsomely if you will return the boy, completely unharmed, to his father.”

  There’s a chuckle on the other end of the line just before it goes dead.

  “Yes, exactly. We’ll walk him outside in one hour and you will take it from there.”

  Rayne’s face is a mask of worry, and I give her a reassuring smile. “Young Decker here will be leaving us shortly.”

  Rayne’s face contorts with pain. “How can you expect me to let him go without making sure he gets to Jeremy?”

  Oh, the dramatics! If it’s a child she wants, I’ll make sure we create another one. One that can be raised under my own thumb and molded accordingly. One that’s the perfect combination of Rayne and myself.

  Striding over to her, I grasp her chin in my hands. Her eyes go wide but she doesn’t pull away. Beside her, the boy shifts away from me. “Trust me. I have your best interests at heart.”

  Her eyes full of mistrust, she doesn’t answer. It’s no matter. Everything is working out exactly the way I want it to.

  Rayne clutches her son to her. “How do I know he’ll really make it to Jeremy? I need to talk to Jeremy…tell him to expect Decker and to let me go.”

  My first instinct is to refuse. To deny her access to her former love every again. I don’t know the background of their union, how they got together all those years ago and made a child. I don’t know the full extent of what they’ve been doing together since she ran from me, but I know that I don’t like the thought of them together. Rayne belongs to me,
not to him.

  But a deep breath and a calm and peaceful mind help me to see that allowing her to sever ties with this man, allowing her the closure that one last conversation might bring, will only serve me better in the long run. If I allow her to make a clean break from him now, maybe he’ll be smart enough to stop sniffing around. Maybe having his son will be enough for him and he will let Rayne go once and for all.

  I imagine her pussy is a hard one to forget, but if he wants to live, he’ll do it.

  My mouth waters at the thought, and I shake myself to stay focused.

  The thought of driving into this woman’s body until I’m limp with exhaustion threatens to overpower me. It’s a high similar to making billions of dollars. I must remain in control.

  I snap my fingers at O’Shea. “Bring me a burner.”

  Straightening up from where he’s been leaning against the wall beside the fireplace, he frowns. “Fine. This job has gone on longer than I planned for. I need to get back to Wilmington and to my business, which means I need to get paid and be done here.”

  Silence blankets the room. My guards shift with unease, and Rayne stares between the idiot private detective and me.

  Crossing the room with purposeful steps, I draw near him until my face is merely an inch away from his. Reaching down, I grab hold of his peanut-size balls through his slacks and squeeze. His eyes bulge and his mouth goes slack. Gathering them tighter, I give a slight twist and he gasps. His breath comes fast and hard, and the fear and pain in his eyes is almost enough to rile me up again.

  Almost.

  My voice is filled with frosty calm. “You want to get paid? Do what I tell you. This will be over for all of us soon enough. But until then, you work for me.” Squeezing him just a little bit tighter pulls a yelp from his throat. Then I release him and pat his face with an open palm. “Understood?”

  When I glance at Rayne this time, her face is green. That’s good. Showing her that I’m not to be fucked with can only help her.

  “Now. How about that phone?”

  With a trembling hand, he reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a small black cell phone. With a smirk, I take it and hold it out to Rayne. When I don’t move from my spot, she’s forced to let go of her son and walk over to me to retrieve it.

  When she attempts to pull it from my fingers, I grip her wrist and pull her against me. Leaning down to her ear, I run my tongue along the outer shell, tasting her.

  “What do you say?” I whisper.

  I hear her teeth snap together, but I don’t release her until I hear her reply.

  “Thank you.”

  Releasing her, I watch her carefully as she walks back to her son’s place on the couch and sits. Powering up the phone, she waits. When the screen lights up, she stabs a finger against the keys, inputting Teague’s phone number.

  With a smile, I wander over to the large window overlooking the front clearing and wait.

  This is a good-bye I want to relish.

  33

  Jeremy

  As the road grade steepens and the forest growth grows denser, my anxiety ratchets up until my stomach is nothing but a tight fist of nerves. Not for myself, but for Decker and Rayne. How is Decker holding up? He’s only eight and he’s never been faced with this type of adversity. What about Rayne? Knowing that her son is in danger must be breaking her. Is she holding it together? And has Horton put his hands on her?

  Shaking my head to clear it, I focus on the device in my hands. Ronin is driving the Land Cruiser so I’m able to pay attention to the tracker app on my phone. We’ve also pulled Sayward in, and from time to time her voice breaks in over the vehicle’s Bluetooth.

  “You guys are getting close.” Sayward’s tone is measured and calm. “You’re only a couple of miles away from where the tracker is located. What’s the terrain like? Do you see any houses around?”

  Sayward and I were able to connect my phone to her laptop, and my tracking application was showing up on her screen. I’m thankful as hell for Grisham’s forethought to bring her in on this before they left Wilmington. They came outfitted with earpieces and wireless devices so that we can all keep in constant contact with one another, and with Sayward, throughout the mission. The covered bed of Dare’s truck looks like a mini-weapons locker with additional reinforcements, and we’re walking into this rescue far more prepared than we could have been.

  Ronin studies the surroundings as he turns onto a dirt path that we almost missed. “It’s pretty crazy up here. Definitely no properties in sight. Whoever owns this land owns a big ass chunk of it. There’re NO TRESPASSING signs all over the place.”

  Scanning the woods around us, I note the signs, and from that, coupled with the rough terrain of the road, it’s obvious that whoever owns this property wants it to stay tucked away from prying eyes.

  I’m hit with a sense of déjà vu the farther we progress down the path. I know this property.

  I’m about to voice the thought when my phone rings. My body going tense, I check the screen, only to see that the number is blocked.

  Sayward is cut off when I answer. “Hello?”

  “Jeremy!”

  When I hear Rayne’s voice calling out to me from my car’s speakers my heart riots in my chest. “Rayne? Are you hurt, darlin’?”

  Trying to keep my voice level and calm, not relaying the pure panic I feel over the line is a feat, but I think I accomplish it.

  “Jeremy, he’s letting Decker go. Someone’s going to pick him up and bring him to you.”

  Her words come out in a tumbled rush, and she sounds so very un-Raynelike my stomach flips. “What? Why would he do that?”

  The engine revs as Ronin pushes through a particularly steep incline. When we crest the ridge, he pulls to a stop. His headlights illuminate the path in front of us, and I know we’ve driven as far as we can. Now it’s time for us to get out, gear up, and follow the remainder of the path on foot.

  “Jeremy, listen. I made a deal.”

  My heart plummets. Blinking rapidly, I focus on her voice and will myself not to bolt from the vehicle to get to her. “What kind of deal, Rayne?”

  Her voice cracks and it’s my hard limit. I want to feel Horton’s throat in my hands. I want to feel the life leaking out of him. But more than any of that, I need to get my hands on Rayne, check her for injuries, and cradle her to my chest.

  I need her to be safe.

  “He lets Decker go. He has someone coming to take him to you. But you have to stop looking for me, Jer. You have to let me go.”

  Her voice breaks again on the last word. Shaking my head, the despair I feel is in danger of taking over my entire body. “Rayne…can he hear me?”

  “No-no.”

  Speaking so quickly my words tumble over one another, my voice pleads with her to hold on. “I’m coming for you and Decker both, Rayne. We don’t need Horton’s deal. Do you hear me? Stall him. If he said he’s letting Decker come to me, it’s a damn lie. Because I’m close, baby. I’m coming for you both.”

  A sob bursts from her just before her voice rises in a strangled cry and the phone is ripped away from her.

  “You heard her. Whatever fantasy you have of a happily-ever-after with your son and his mother are now obsolete. Let. Her. Go. Be thankful for your son and all he stands to inherit.”

  My open palm slams down on the dashboard. “Fuck you, asshole. If you hurt her, or touch my son, I will dismember you. One limb at a time. Got me?”

  His chuckle fills the air in the car before the line goes dead.

  34

  Rayne

  I’m close, baby. I’m coming for you both.

  Jeremy’s words whirl around and around in my mind, even after Wagner snatches the phone and turns it off. The glimmer of hope that Jeremy just dangled in front of me is enough.

  “Your Mr. Teague is a caveman.” Wagner spits the words like he can’t get them out of his mouth fast enough. “You should be happy that I’m rescuing you from a life wit
h him.”

  Glancing up at him with venom in my eyes, I stand up and walk away from Decker. As I thought he would, Wagner follows.

  “Is that what you see yourself as? Some sort of hero? What kind of man has to kidnap the woman he has affection for? If you even have affection for me.”

  His lips curve upward, but there’s nothing warm about the smile. It chills me through and through. “Having affection for you is a bonus for you.” He leans forward until his lips brush my ear, and I shudder involuntarily. “Originally, my new business partner was going to kill you. I saved you from that. But then you ran, so my first thought was to kill you. I don’t trust you to keep my secrets. But I kept thinking about what a waste that would be.” He pauses, glancing all the way down my body before whispering again. “This way, you live. And I get to enjoy you. I plan to share the fortune I’m making with this new merger with you. So, yes. I fancy myself as your rescuer.”

  Stepping away from him without a word, I return to Decker on the couch. He sidles closer to me, whispering, “I miss Dad.”

  Pulling him against me and kissing the top of his dark brown head, I whisper back. “Me, too, buddy. You know he’s coming for us though, right?”

  Looking up at me with the same hope I know is mirrored in my eyes, he gives me the first smile I’ve seen on him in hours. “Yeah. I know.”

  O’Shea storms toward the window. He’s been increasingly antsy since entering the cabin. I’ve been watching his irritation with this entire situation ramp up. Maybe before this, he was a private investigator on the correct side of the law. If that’s the case, I feel sorry that he hooked up with Wagner Horton.

  After the way Wagner hurt him a few moments ago, I think he’s sorry, too.

  “Now what?” O’Shea’s voice is hollow, resigned. “We just have to sit here and wait?”

  “We wait until we can release the boy back to his father. And then you get paid and out of my sight, and Rayne and I here head to the private airfield where I have a jet waiting. Easy enough.” Horton walks to a chair facing the fireplace and sits, looking like the most comfortable man in the world.