“We do?”
“I’ve allowed you several questions already. I really don’t believe you want to push your luck, do you?”
Properly meek, she said, “No, Damon, I’m so sorry.”
There was the smile again, but the cold, hard gleam in his eyes remained. Something had definitely changed. Ice surged through her veins. She’d seen that look in his eyes before. It was usually followed by severe punishment.
His words, though condescending and cruel, revealed nothing. “That’s a good bitch. Besides, I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Let’s just say that the upcoming events will be something we’ll both remember for a very long time.”
More uneasy than she’d been since she had seen him again, McKenna nodded absently and let him lead her down the hallway. What the hell was he talking about? Damon’s surprises usually meant intense pain for her and extreme enjoyment for him.
Since he hadn’t tried to rape her since she got here, she could only assume that was in the plan. She tried to ignore the nausea crawling at her insides at the thought of having sex with Damon. While it was true she’d had sex on jobs before to maintain her cover, that was before she’d met Lucas. Not only would Damon’s touch remind her of what he was and what he had done, the thought of being with any man other than Lucas was abhorrent. When she’d made the decision to let Damon take her, she had known having sex might be a possibility but hadn’t allowed herself to think about it. Now that it was a very real probability, she honestly didn’t know if she could go through with it.
One thing at a time, McKenna.
She drew a long, shallow breath. She would face that nightmare scenario when she had to. For right now, she had more than enough to think about. Whatever she could find out about Jamie, she needed to do it soon.
* * *
Lying in a cramped car trunk with his hands bound, Lucas stared up at the monster who’d tortured and raped McKenna. Odd—he actually looked like a normal man. Attractive, early thirties, with an air of hard-edged sophistication that many women might find attractive. And those women who were unfortunate enough to catch his attention were no doubt horrified to realize they’d hooked up with a maniac.
“Welcome to my home, Mr. Kane. Did you have a pleasant trip?”
Since tape covered his mouth, Lucas let his eyes speak for him. He may have lured the bastard for this meeting, but the fury he felt was real. Besides, he had to act as surprised as possible, even fearful. Having Hughes suspect any kind of setup would not only destroy his plan, it could damn well backfire and get Lucas killed instead.
“I have to admit to a bit of a disappointment that you were so easy to grab. I had thought it would take weeks to get to the famous British stud. Instead, in just over one day my people managed to abduct you and bring you here.” His smile one of supreme superiority, Hughes shook his head. “Doesn’t say a lot for your intelligence, now, does it?”
Lucas would have laughed if he could have. Damon’s people had passed him on the street three times before he could attract their attention. He’d ended up having to walk down a dark alley by himself just so he could make it as easy on them as possible. Poor stupid fools had looked so damned proud of themselves; he hadn’t even bothered putting up a token resistance. What was the point when they were taking him exactly where he wanted to go? A gun poking in his side had gotten him to their car. The tap on his head had given him a headache, but it was the frustration of having to feign unconsciousness for hours that had worn him down. If nothing else, he was glad he didn’t have to pretend anymore.
Hughes’s gaze roamed Lucas’s scrunched-up body.
“I’m assuming you would like to know why you were taken?”
Lucas nodded.
“McKenna, of course.” A cold smile twisted his mouth. “Ah, I see the acknowledgment in your eyes.” He stooped down till he was inches from Kane’s face. “You have been in possession of my most treasured asset. She may have been just another woman to you, but to me she’s everything. You dared to touch what belongs to me only. For that, you will pay the highest of prices.” He straightened and backed away. “Since I expected it to take longer to get you, the show unfortunately can’t start as soon as I would have liked. However, I’ll make sure you’re comfortable until the arrangements can be made. The event might not be as elaborate as I had planned, but the entertainment will be off-the-charts fun, I assure you.”
At a nod from Hughes, two big lugs pulled Lucas from the trunk. His legs were numb from hours of being crammed in a small space, and he fell to his knees. The time he’d been locked up hadn’t been wasted, though. The ties around his wrists were almost loose; in seconds he could be free. That, however, would have to wait until the circulation returned to his limbs.
One man grabbed him under his arms and pulled him to a standing position. Since he could do nothing about the sting of pins and needles that racked his entire body, he ignored it. It would be gone soon enough and then he could act. His eyes appearing to dart fearfully around, Lucas leaned against the car and took in his surroundings. The estate was small compared to Lucas’s, but the obvious opulence of his surroundings assured him that Damon Hughes was making a fortune on his illegal activities.
When he was pushed forward, Lucas didn’t have to pretend to stumble. Damn his legs…he willed them to work. He didn’t know how many men were at the estate but he needed all his parts in working order before he got started on getting rid of them.
Hughes stood several feet from him, still smirking. “Why don’t you take Mr. Kane the long way around, Simon? Show him some of the scenery.”
One of the giants behind him grunted, apparently Simon. As he was pushed forward again, Lucas tried to get a sense of where he was. The courtyard was round, filled with statues, large plants, and small trees. The statue of a large-busted nude woman stood in the middle of a giant fountain. The mansion was a three-story massive structure of brick and stucco. Lucas wondered what mortuary designer had built it.
Lucas stumbled again, then shuffled forward like a whipped, terrified man. Hughes chuckled beside him. As they made their way toward the side of the house, his legs regained their strength. Taking the men out before they reached their destination seemed the wisest course. Adrenaline surged within him. One good tug on the rope and he would be free.
“Stop.” Damon’s voice was low.
Lucas turned slightly. Were they planning on shooting him here? No, that would be too anticlimactic, not in keeping with Damon’s earlier comments about an event.
“This is an excellent place to get a glimpse of my most prized possession,” Damon said.
Lucas shot a glance at the giant swimming pool. This was Damon’s most prized possession? As pools went, he supposed it was nice, but it certainly wasn’t—
Breath shuddered from Lucas’s body in a giant gasp of air. A woman emerged from the pool, dripping from her swim and barely covered by an almost nonexistent bikini, her golden skin glistening beneath the blaze of the sun. He had no trouble recognizing the lovely female form. He’d held that body in his arms, made love to it for endless hours, and dreamed of it nightly.
Just what the hell was McKenna doing here?
Before he could come up with a reasonable answer, he felt a small prick at his neck. Whirling, Lucas turned to see Damon holding a hypodermic needle. The bastard had an even broader smirk on his face. Dammit. Drugs. His gaze went back to McKenna. She was drying her body, apparently unaware of the audience she had attracted. Her image wavered and blurred in front of him. His limbs loosened, taking on the feeling of melting wax, and he collapsed on the ground. Lucas had one last urgent thought before darkness covered his mind: McKenna was in danger.
Caressing the handle of the favorite knife he always carried at his waist, Damon watched Lucas Kane being hauled into an outbuilding he’d had designed for this type of guest. Oh, how he wanted to begin the carving immediately, but that would spoil the upcoming event. Patience had brought McKenna back to him; that same
patience had to be exercised here. The anticipation of the kill would only increase the pleasure of the act.
McKenna thought her secret was safe, that he didn’t know about her lover. She thought everything was settled between them. He had wined and dined her, treated her with the utmost gentleness. Given her clothes and all the luxuries a woman could want. He’d asked nothing in return. Had barely even touched her other than a few kisses and caresses here and there.
Last night, instead of joining her for dinner, he’d had Margret deliver a meal to her room. If he’d spent any more time with her, he would have lost his temper and showed his hand too soon.
Admittedly, he had allowed a little of his anger to show yesterday afternoon, but she had shocked him. Why had she gone into his office? That seemed so un-McKenna-like; he’d had difficulty maintaining his role of gentle lover.
Now that his plans were working so well, he could go back to being the charming, loving Damon. Showing her what she could have was an excellent precursor for the coming events. When he punished her for her unfaithfulness, she would be able to see the difference. The contrast would be so apparent, even her little mind could comprehend the distinction. And then they could move on. All of this would be in the past. Lucas Kane would be dead and Damon would never worry that McKenna would even think about straying again.
How many men McKenna had been with over the years he refused to contemplate. One was one too many. All these years, he’d thought that even though she was far from him, she would remain celibate until they reunited. After all, it wasn’t as if she enjoyed the sex act or was even very good at it. How many times had he had to tie her down and tame her into submission? But that was his right. To know that she had willingly spread her legs for this man and who knows how many others sickened him.
When McKenna once more understood her place in his world, her final and most important lesson was to see her lover mutilated and dead. That vision in her mind would ensure she never roamed again. Lucas Kane would be gone for good and McKenna would know she was once more responsible for another person’s death.
And then life would be what it should have been eight years ago, before McKenna destroyed everything. She would pay for her mistakes and then they would go forward together as they were meant to be.
twenty
The house held a deathlike silence as McKenna eased open her bedroom door. It was three in the morning, and she hoped the men patrolling the house would be nodding off, or at least inattentive. If she had to, she would disable them and hide them somewhere. Depending upon what Damon had planned for what he called the upcoming “big event,” this might be her last chance to get information on Jamie. She had to take the risk.
Damon had joined her at the pool this afternoon and smirked the entire time. Twice at dinner he’d startled her by bursting out in laughter. Questioning him wasn’t something he liked, but she did ask him once to share the joke. He’d only smiled and said that tomorrow all would be revealed. Just what the hell did that mean?
She knew she was damn lucky he hadn’t locked her in again. Last night, when he’d had Margret deliver a meal to her and lock her door, she’d been sure he was on to her. Figured catching her coming out of his office had put him on alert. Apparently that wasn’t the case.
Tonight, after spending the evening together, he’d escorted her to the bedroom door and kissed her. The minute she entered the room, she’d expected to hear the click of the lock. It never came. Questioning the reason would do no good. She had to find information on Jamie. Time was running out.
She was dressed a little differently tonight. One of the dresses Damon had supplied her with had a thick lining, so she’d ripped a hole in it, figuring the slot would be a good place to hide the letter opener.
On silent feet, she crept down the hallway to the top of the stairs and looked around. The giant foyer was empty. Most of the men were posted outside, but two stayed inside and walked constantly through the interior of the mansion. Fortunately, there was a lot of house for them to cover. The key was to time it so that they were in a different part of the house than she was.
Easing downstairs, her ears and eyes alert for any shadow or sound, she saw and heard no one. Damon’s office was on the first floor, at the back of the house. At the bottom of the stairs she stopped and listened. Nothing. Running as quickly and quietly as possible, she reached the closed door of his office in less than a minute. She turned the knob and then almost sobbed her frustration out loud. The door was locked.
Dammit, it hadn’t been locked yesterday. This was no doubt his attempt to keep her out. She’d just see about that.
Thinking of all of the tools she could have used to unlock the door would do no good. She had to find something to improvise with. Think, McKenna, think! She stood in a largish hallway. To her right was a small sofa and table. On her left was nothing other than a landscape hanging from the wall.
An image of the landscape she’d left in her little apartment in Paris came to her mind. Not the picture itself, but the wire that had been on the back to hang it. Telling herself this one would be too expensive to have a thin wire in the back, she looked anyway. As she had figured: hooks only, no wire.
Refusing to give up, she turned and considered the table and sofa again. A vase full of some kind of exotic-looking flower sat in the middle of the table. The flowers looked fresh and had a rich color…they had to be real. She crept closer and touched them. Silk!
Wasting no time, McKenna plucked one of the flowers; using her teeth and fingernails, she stripped the plastic off the stem wire.
Heart pounding with trepidation and exhilaration, she inserted the wire into the lock, jiggled for several seconds, and heard a soft click. Voilà!
McKenna slipped inside, went straight to the laptop on Damon’s desk, and clicked on his document file again. Several different file names caught her attention; she tried “McKenna” for every password and finally got into one file.
Her eyes quickly perused the contents: all the different transactions Damon had been involved in this year. Apparently his business interests were quite a diverse collection of illegal activities, including gambling, drug smuggling, bribery, and…Her breath stopped. Women. Dollar amounts were beside each name. Had he sold these women? Her eyes read through them, looking for Jamie Kendrick. She wasn’t there. Memorizing the names and places as best she could, she exited the program and started searching again.
She heard a soft noise. Someone was coming! Closing the laptop, she ducked under the desk and held her breath. Voices just outside the office door. She couldn’t hear what was being said or who it was. They sounded as if they were standing in front of the door.
She waited for several more breath-holding seconds. The talking continued. Cursing silently, McKenna reached up and pulled the laptop down on the floor with her. If they were going to stand there and block her only exit, she might as well take advantage of what time she had left.
Each file she clicked on was no help. She found nothing more than entries showing the amazing amounts of money he had made and spent. She went back to the file of names showing women being sold, hoping she had somehow missed Jamie’s name. No, there was no mention of her.
Another sound. The men were moving away. Sighing because she’d gotten nothing helpful, McKenna stood and replaced the laptop back on the desk. Her next option was to explore the grounds. The estate was large enough for small guesthouses, perhaps a place he had hidden her. She couldn’t give up. Her last option was to confront Damon and force him to talk. Which meant she would have to get him alone, away from the mountainous men who protected him.
Her feet soundless on the carpeted floor, she went to the door and listened. Heard nothing. Taking a breath, McKenna opened the door. And there stood Damon, apparently waiting for her. His eyes gleamed with evil; the expression on his face was that of a predator on the verge of taking down its prey.
The pretense was over.
The mother of all headaches poun
ded at Lucas’s skull. Willing his body to absorb and then deny the agony, he took several deep, even breaths. Deciding the slight lessening of pain was the best he was going to get, he pushed himself up to look around. Several thoughts hit him at once. He wasn’t restrained, meaning they thought he wasn’t a threat. The room was dark, but he had good night vision, so he could see that he was in a bedroom. Not much of a bedroom, since all it had was one bed and nothing else. The room was stripped clean. Not a weapon to be found anywhere. Not that that was a problem; he’d come prepared.
The men who’d nabbed him had checked his pockets and nothing else. They had most definitely been hired for their brawn, for which Lucas was immensely grateful.
Taking his belt from his pants, he stripped the leather away from the buckle and pulled out a five-inch Peacemaker knife. Tearing further into the leather, he slid out thirty inches of piano wire. Removing his left boot, he slid his Kel-Tec.380 from the small holster that held it in place. Pulling off the other boot, he took out the extra cartridge of bullets.
The dark navy shirt hanging loose covered the gun he slid into one pocket, and the knife was hidden in the other, along with the cartridge. He slipped the piano wire into his waistband, within easy reach.
Feeling reasonably ready to face Damon and his men, Lucas stood and perused the room for an escape. They might be coming for him soon, but he’d just as soon get out on his own if he could.
Ears and eyes alert, Lucas walked the perimeter of the room and finally allowed himself to think of why McKenna was here. Two options came to mind. One, Damon had kidnapped her again. Or two, she had finally decided to confront him and for some reason decided to take a swim first.
He was going with the first theory. Damon had kidnapped her again and she hadn’t been able to escape. The thought of how and when that had happened pounded in his skull. What had the bastard done to her while she was here?
Last Chance Page 23