A Madaris Bride for Christmas

by Brenda Jackson

  “I know you have her, and I want her back,” Lee said.

  “It’s going to cost you.”

  “Name your price,” Lee countered.

  “I’ll get back in touch with you.” Nash then hung up the phone.

  Lee stared at the phone. “What the hell?”

  “He’s playing with you,” Gause said. He turned to Sir Drake. “Did you have enough time to pick up the location?”

  Drake smiled. “I didn’t, but he did,” he said, pointing over at Ashton. “He’s a born tracker and has picked up the scent.”

  Gause looked confused. “Scent? What scent?”

  Ashton gave the man a tense smile before saying, “It’s too complicated to explain.” Ashton then turned to Lee. “You’re going to have to trust me on this. Evil forces are trying to overpower good. Evil won’t win.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “We wait,” Ashton said, sliding down into a chair. The others did the same.

  Gause frowned and stared at them. “Are you telling me you have an idea of where she is?” he asked Ashton.

  “No idea. I know for certain.”

  “Then what the hell are we waiting for?” the man asked, even more confused.

  “The right time. If we move too soon, he will kill her.”

  Gause just stared at Ashton. “He’s going to kill her if we don’t make an attempt to save her.”

  Ashton shook his head. “No. She will live, and he will die.”

  Gause looked around at everyone who seemed to have taken Ashton’s words as gospel. In fact, Drake Warren had pulled out playing cards and was now shuffling the deck to deal to his wife and Trevor Grant.

  Gause turned to Lee. “You’re willing to take a chance on your wife’s life by doing what he says?”

  Lee recalled all the stories he’d heard about Ashton. Sir Drake was only alive today because of one of Ashton’s visions. “Yes. I’m willing to take that chance.”

  “Chill, Gause,” Alex said. “Ashton knows what he’s talking about. If you’re lucky, he might be able to tell you where Driskell keeps that log of names your men have spent all this time trying to find.”

  Gause glanced back over at Ashton, who had stretched his legs out and leaned his head back as if he was about to get some sleep. He had read the reports on Colonel Ashton Sinclair. He had been one of the marines’ finest, and part of the marines’ elite recon’s Fearless Four, along with Trevor and Drake. Their rescue efforts had been flawless until that ill-fated day when the only woman on the team, Sandy Carroll, had lost her life on a mission in Haiti. It was rumored that Ashton had the gift of visions. Could it be true? The others in the room seemed convinced. Madaris was willing to risk his wife’s life on it.

  “Is what Alex said true? Do you think you can find out where Driskell keeps that log?”

  Ashton shrugged. “Not sure. I’m getting a good scent off Nash today. I won’t know until I meet this man you call Driskell.”

  “Okay,” Gause said, leaving the room with a sense of relief that they might be able to bring an end to the East Coast Connection and expose those funding it.

  “It won’t be long. Just remember good conquers evil,” Ashton told Lee.

  Lee went back to the window, his mind filled with memories of Carly and the time they’d shared in Dubai just last week. Their time had been almost perfect.

  He wasn’t sure how long he stood there remembering when Ashton finally called out to him.

  “Lee?”

  He glanced over at Ashton, who had stood up. “Yes?”

  “It’s time.”

  * * *

  “I guess I could cut off a couple of your fingers to send to your husband as a souvenir.”

  Carly didn’t say anything. All she could do was pray that this nightmare would soon come to an end. She had tried pleading with him on the drive to this vacant cabin. He’d just laughed and then finally told her to keep her mouth closed. She was doing just what he’d said.

  “What’s wrong, lady. Can’t you talk? You certainly had a lot to say on the tip line that night.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. The sound raked across her skin. And when he reached across the table and picked up the gun he’d placed there, she drew in a sharp breath.

  “Maybe I should just kill you now and then tell your husband where he can find the body. When he goes there, I can be hiding out, waiting. It will give me great joy to blow him away too.”

  Carly swallowed. She’d always thought Mr. Thrasher was an evil man, but this guy took the cake. Her breath caught when he lifted the gun and aimed it at her forehead.

  “All it would take is one pull of the trigger. Hmm,” he said with a crazy look on his face. “I don’t think that’s a bad idea.”

  “Well, I happen to think it’s a lousy one.”

  Nash jerked the gun away from Carly and aimed it at the man who walked through the door.

  “Bracey? What the hell are you doing here?”

  * * *

  Who was that man? What was going on? He was tall with a mean look on his face. Carly picked up on the tension between the two. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. She had a feeling the intense dislike she could sense between them would end here.

  “Driskell sent me,” Bracey said. “Plans have changed. He doesn’t want the discovery of her body to happen so close to the discovery of Harrison’s.”

  Nash glared. “Her body won’t be discovered. Besides, Miami and Vegas are miles apart. No one is going to make the connection.”

  “Driskell doesn’t want to take chances. He feels he can’t trust you when it comes to disposing of bodies. He wants me to bring her to him. He wants to kill her himself.”

  Nash glared, holding the gun level with the man’s chest. “No,” he said in a hateful voice. “I ain’t stupid, nor will I take the chance. I’ve worked with Driskell a lot longer than you have, and I know the way he thinks. I also know the way you think, Bracey. You’re nothing but a two-bit power grabber who plans to take over. You might have Driskell fooled, but you don’t have me fooled. Driskell sent you to kill me, but that’s not going to happen.”

  Fear coiled in Carly’s stomach. It was obvious one of the men was going to kill the other. Where would that leave her? For the moment, she was forgotten. Maybe there was a way she could escape while they were engaged. Her hands were tied behind her back but her feet were not tied, which meant she could run if she had to.

  And go where? She knew anywhere was better than here. No matter the outcome of the two men’s little power struggle, eventually one of them would kill her.

  She glanced out the window. She had no idea where she was, but she knew from the drive that the place was heavily wooded. Given the amount of time it had taken to get here, she figured they were somewhere in a cabin near the Toiyabe National Forest.

  The argument between the two men had escalated, but Nash was holding the advantage with the gun. However, it seemed the man Nash had called Bracey wouldn’t back down. He was determined to take her to Driskell. She tried fighting the fear rising in her throat. Lee would try to find her; she believed that. But she also knew he had no idea where she was.

  Then, in a movement so swift she’d barely seen it, Bracey used some kind of karate maneuver with his leg and knocked the gun out of Nash’s hand. When Nash dived to retrieve it, Bracey dived after him and the fight was on.

  Carly took a deep breath against panic. Pain afflicted her skin as she tore against the rope restraining her hands. The two men were going at it, fists flying, curses swarming, both trying to be the first to reach the gun.

  The weapon had landed close to her feet. Deciding she didn’t want to give either man an advantage, she kicked the gun with all her might and watched it roll under the sofa.

  Nash saw what she’d done and snarled, “Bitch.” He was about to lay into her with his fist, but the man named Bracey saw his advantage and slammed a right hook on him that sent Nash crumbling to the floor.


  And then Bracey turned to her. He came at her with a small knife in one hand. She was about to scream, certain he would slash her throat, when he reached behind her and used the knife to cut through the ropes binding her hands.

  The next thing she knew, Bracey was shoved out of the way. Nash had recovered from the blow and the fight was back on again. Bracey had freed her. She wasn’t sure why but figured he’d done it so he could take her with him. She didn’t plan to go anywhere with either man. Ignoring the pain in her wrist where the rope had cut into her skin, she jumped out of the chair and ran toward the door. It was locked.

  “The bitch is getting away,” Nash roared. Then she heard the crack of bones and knew someone’s jaw had been broken. She refused to look back to see whose as she frantically tried to unlock the door.

  Suddenly, a hand at her waist shoved her aside as someone reached up and nearly tore the latch off the door.

  “Come on!” Bracey’s deep voice snapped.

  She froze. She wasn’t going anywhere with him.

  But he didn’t wait for her cooperation. He grabbed her hand and pulled her through the door with him. She jerked back, trying to fight. He gave her a hard shake when they reached the yard.

  “Stop it,” he hissed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  He wanted her to believe that? “Let me go,” she implored in a raw voice.

  “No. Nash will be passed out for only a minute, so we need to move fast. I didn’t have time to retrieve the gun from under the sofa or look for the knife Nash knocked out of my hands. And I lost my car keys during the fight. That means we need to escape into those woods and hide until morning. There’s no doubt he’ll come after us. He’ll even call for backup and give them orders to kill us on sight.”

  Before she could open her mouth to ask why she should go anywhere with him, he gave a gruff order. “Let’s go.”

  She dug in her heels, refusing. However, when a shot rang out and then another, they both knew Nash had regained consciousness, retrieved the gun and was now firing at them.

  The next time Bracey said, “Let’s go,” she took off running with him.

  * * *

  When it seemed they had run a full mile nonstop, she jerked her hand from Bracey’s and leaned against a tree to catch her breath. She was shaken but glad to be alive. She looked into Bracey’s hard face and her gut-wrenching fear returned.

  Carly was tempted to run away from him but knew she wouldn’t get far. He had run the mile with little sweat.

  “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I told you that I wouldn’t hurt you.”

  Yes, he had said that. But why? Who was he? She was almost too afraid to know. Was he an assassin? A man who did whatever the guy named Driskell ordered him to do? Even now, she could feel the violence radiating off of him, and he wanted her to believe he wouldn’t hurt her?

  “Who are you?” she asked in a whisper, giving in to her curiosity.

  He held her stare for a long moment before saying, “I’m Addison Bracey. Special agent for the FBI. Undercover.”

  Chapter 23

  Gause, his men and the rest of the group arrived at a section of Toiyabe National Forest in the late afternoon. It would be getting dark soon. Lee Madaris seemed to be holding up okay and Gause appreciated that. The last thing they needed was an irrational spouse on their hands.

  His phone rang and he saw the call was from Woodman. “This is Gause.”

  “My men and I have Driskell under surveillance. He got a phone call that has thrown him into action. He’s called some of his men, and they left in a car driving away from the Strip. We managed to trace Driskell’s call, and it came from Nash. But we didn’t have time to decipher Nash’s location.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Gause said, glancing over at Colonel Ashton Sinclair. The man was studying the environment and actually smiling. But it wasn’t a regular smile. It was the smile of a man who was in his element and about to embark upon a mission. The three others—Trevor, Drake and Tori—all looked the same way.

  “What do you mean it doesn’t matter?” Woodman asked.

  “Because we’re here already. Toiyabe National Forest. One of Maxwell’s friends picked up Nash’s scent.”

  “What scent?”

  Gause drew in a deep breath. “Too complicated to explain,” he said, repeating exactly what had been told to him. “How many men are with Driskell?”

  “Five. His usual cutthroats that work under Nash and Bracey. My next question is where the hell is Bracey?”

  * * *

  Carly was speechless...but only for a few seconds. “You’re an FBI agent?”

  “Yes,” Bracey said.

  There was no doubt in his mind that Nash had gotten in touch with Driskell. The big man would be sending in backup. There was also no doubt in his mind that Weber had figured out he’d been had. The only reason he’d been ordered to watch Carly Briggs’s home was to get him out of the way for a while. Weber would be mad and when Weber got mad his killer instinct kicked in.

  Bracey hadn’t been able to get a connection on his phone. Until he did, he and Ms. Briggs would be on their own. The quicker they could make it to the ranger’s station near Mount Charleston, the better. But at no time could he lose sight of the fact that they were being tracked down like animals. Nash and Driskell would make him pay for his deception.

  “How long have you been undercover with the mob?” Carly asked him.

  He looked back at her. “Almost four years.”

  “Four years?”

  “Yes, it took me that long to work up the ranks and gain everyone’s trust. They are a ruthless bunch, with policemen, politicians and CEOs on their payroll. In most situations it’s the latter two who are funding the gang wars.”

  “I don’t understand. How can gang wars benefit politicians and CEOs?”

  “Because it keeps the FBI busy, keeps them from paying attention to what those politicians and CEOs are doing—dealing in trafficking of illegal drugs and humans. That’s a big business.”

  Bracey glanced around again before saying, “I can’t call for backup because my phone got knocked around pretty bad in my fight with Nash. So we have to keep moving.”

  “You think he’s coming after us?” Carly asked.

  “I know he is, and he’ll call for backup. I just hope my commander realizes I’m missing in action and tries to figure out where we are.”

  Carly nodded. “What are the chances of him doing that? Figuring out where we are?”

  Bracey decided to be honest with her. “Pretty damn slim. But we can hope. Come on. Let’s keep moving while we have daylight.”

  * * *

  “How are you holding up?” Tori asked Lee.

  Lee drew in a deep breath. “As well as expected under the circumstances. I do, however, feel better now that Ashton told me about his vision. I just hope nothing goes wrong.”

  “It won’t. Ashton would have seen any trouble. That doesn’t mean getting her out will be easy, but she will be all right.”

  “How does he do it?” Lee wanted to know. He’d watched the four gear up. Trevor, Tori and Sir Drake joked on occasion. But Ashton wore a serious expression the entire time.

  “Not sure,” Tori answered. “It has something to do with powers handed down to him from his forefathers on both sides—Cherokee Indian and African. Already he’s detected the same powers in one of his sons. The one named Wolf. He and Ashton can read each other’s minds and hold a conversation without saying a word.”

  Lee knew Ashton and his wife, Netherland, had triplets—all boys—who were under ten, and they had one daughter.

  “What about the others? Will they inherit the special powers as well?”

  Tori shrugged. “Ashton thinks so but doesn’t know when.”

  “Time to go in,” Ashton said loudly, getting everyone’s attention.

  “You still want my men to stay back?” Gause asked.

  “Yes. The four of us will handle this. We work b
etter together. We should be back by morning. I’ll get word of what’s going on to Alex.”

  Lee thought that morning seemed like an awful long time, but he would continue to have faith.

  * * *

  “Bracey has the woman?” Driskell asked Nash when he arrived at the cabin.

  After he’d received the call from Nash it hadn’t taken him long to figure out that Bracey had been a mole within the organization. No telling what information he’d passed on.

  “Yes, he has her.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me she was married to Madaris?”

  “Just found out myself. I was about to kill her when Bracey told me you wanted her kept alive,” Nash said.

  Driskell wanted Bracey. The man was a traitor who deserved to die.

  “I want both him and the woman found,” Driskell said with profound anger in his voice.

  “You want them brought in alive?” Weber asked. Driskell could tell Weber was mad as hell at the realization that he’d been deceived by Bracey all this time.

  ‘“No,” Driskell replied. “Kill them. Then bring their bodies here so we can dispose of them in a way that will make sure they are never found.” He glanced over at Palmer. “You got the acid ready?”

  Palmer nodded. “As much as I could get ahold of without anyone becoming suspicious.”

  Driskell nodded. “Good. Now spread out the men and don’t come back without their bodies or it will be yours boiling in the acid.”

  The men knew Driskell meant business. Along with Nash, they entered the forest.

  * * *

  It was dusk. They wouldn’t have many daylight hours left to make their way toward the ranger’s station. Bracey had told her that much.

  However, Carly had another question for him. “You were responsible for someone finding Agent Harrison’s body, weren’t you?”

  Without slowing his pace, Bracey looked over at her. “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Closure. His wife and kids needed to know he was dead and not just missing. I owed them that much.”

  “You knew him?”

  “No, but he was a fellow agent. If I had a family I’d want that for them.” Suddenly, Bracey stopped walking and Carly stopped as well.