Banishing Shadows

by Lorna Jean Roberts

  “Stop fighting, baby, please,” he whispered. Fear and fury roiled around his stomach, making him want to vomit. Yet he couldn’t give in to the terror riding him, he had to focus. Because nothing could happen to Kayla. He simply couldn’t survive losing her.

  The man holding a gun on his woman turned and he caught sight of his face. Reed walked up to Kayla and, drawing back his hand, slapped her heavily across the face. Cord was moving before he even realized it, his vision tunneling with the force of his rage.

  Stopping abruptly, he pulled himself back. He couldn’t move, not yet. Although Cord didn’t give a fuck about the woman inside the cabin at that moment, he couldn’t afford to risk Kayla by attacking without thought.

  A subdued Kayla was pushed into the small log cabin. Rage had him nearly shaking, but he remained focused. Fifteen minutes was up, time to regroup. Turning, he raced back toward Luke. He didn’t have to go far—Luke was already making his way down.

  Cord glanced over his shoulder as Sam joined them.

  “Fuck,” Luke swore as Cord updated him. “I just got off the phone to Quinn. He answered when I tried to call Nash. Apparently he and Joe found Nash nearly dead in Kayla’s office. Quinn’s on his way.”

  “Good, but we can’t wait. There are four of them and they’re armed. We need to separate them with a diversion, get them out of that cabin. Sam, you take the rifle. Take whatever shots you can get.”

  Sam nodded.

  “What sort of diversion are you going to use?” Luke asked.

  “I’m still figuring that part out,” Cord answered grimly. “Come on.”

  They separated, Sam climbing high as Cord and Luke moved closer to the cabin. The door opened. Four men emerged, two dragging Lily and Kayla whose hands were bound, while Reed and another man walked behind, carrying diving belts. What the hell were they going to do with those?

  “Oh fuck.”

  Realizing their intention, Cord turned to Luke, seeing the dawning horror in his eyes. Reaching down, he grasped the knife strapped to his leg and gave it to Luke. “Look after the women.”

  Cord assessed the situation as Luke nodded and took off farther down the lake. Sam wouldn’t be able to get a clear shot, not without risking the women.

  Cord watched as they forced both women to kneel. Reed slapped Kayla once again when she tried to resist and Cord’s hands fisted, his fury a rumbling roar inside him, itching to burst free.

  He watched and waited.

  Kayla worked hard to keep her terror from showing. She wouldn’t give her kidnappers the pleasure as they hustled the two women down to the dock. Two of them quickly tied the women’s legs with rope.

  “Now, my dears,” Reed’s voice was sugary sweet as he seemed to take great pleasure in torturing them with words, “you’ll try to struggle when you first hit the water. Please, please do. You’ll hope to escape somehow. But then you’ll need to take a breath so badly. It will be painful, it will burn. Fight it, fight to live, it won’t do you any good but it will prolong your suffering.”

  Kayla growled while Lily stared blankly, her face slack, her eyes unseeing.

  “Just shut up, Reed, and let’s get this done,” one of the other men muttered. “I got a bad feeling.”

  “Wait. Why here? Why bring us all the way out here to kill us?” Kayla was desperate to stall him.

  Reed smiled.

  “Why, because I didn’t want either of you lovely ladies to be lonely. I thought you should die together. And this place holds such good memories for me. This is the first place I met my brother, your loving husband, Lily. Who you so easily threw away. Bet you regret betraying him now, don’t you?” he snarled. Then he stilled, closing his eyes. When he reopened them he was smiling once more. “I thought it only fitting that we return here.”

  God, he’s sick.

  “Sorry, my darling girls, I’ve got to go. Now take a deep breath.”

  Hands shoved her roughly from behind, sending her falling into the freezing cold water with a splash. This was it. This was how she was going to die.

  Kayla fought against the weight around her waist. With her feet and legs tied she had no chance. Frantic, she glanced around, searching for anything she could use to free herself.

  Lungs burning, Kayla saw someone swimming toward her. Her body thrashed as she tried to move, to get away. The knife she glimpsed fueled her fear. Then the man got close enough for her to see his face.

  Luke. Thank God.

  Although she knew he was working quickly, it seemed to take forever to cut through the ropes. As she freed herself from the weight belt, he turned and swam away.

  Her lungs urged her to surface immediately. Instead, she remained under the water, swimming away from the jetty. She was terrified that when she rose to take a breath Reed would shoot her. Kayla waited until she couldn’t stand it any longer before driving herself up. Taking a deep, quick breath she dropped once more and swam toward the shore.

  When Kayla reached shallow water, she held back her sobs of relief, terrified someone would hear them. Pulling herself out as quietly as possible, she peered over at the jetty. Hard gusts of wind whipped the lake surface into frothy waves. Through the encroaching darkness she could see the jetty was empty. Staring over her shoulder, Kayla watched Luke swim through the choppy water, towing Lily behind him.

  Teeth chattering, she clumsily found her feet and stumbled on to the shore. She turned to help Luke but he waved her back, easily carrying Lily.

  Panting, Kayla managed to force out the words.

  “I-is she—?”

  “She’s breathing, just unconscious.”

  Kayla watched as he tenderly brushed the hair back from Lily’s face. As her brain started to function again, Kayla sat up, searching frantically. Where the hell had Reed and his brothers gone?

  “L-Luke?” she stuttered, her voice hoarse.

  “Shh, sit still and let me take care of you both.”

  “Luke, we’ve got to—” Kayla’s voice broke off as she spied her kidnappers near the cabin. Two had their hands in the air as Cord and another man held guns on them. The other two were still, lying on the ground.

  Something inside her loosened as Cord turned to look at her.

  “C-Cord.” She tried to move, to go to him, needing him. But her body wasn’t working properly. Luke caught her as she fell back.

  “Stay here, Kayla, let him do what he has to. You’ll only distract him if you go over there now. I’ve called the cops. They shouldn’t be too far away.”

  Kayla examined her brother as he settled the other woman against him, rocking her. All three of them were shivering violently by now.

  “Luke?”

  Kayla and Luke both jumped and looked at Lily. She opened her eyes, peering at them, her baby-blue gaze haunted.

  “Luke,” she breathed out, clasping him close.

  “Shh, Lils, it’s okay. I’m here now. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

  Kayla glanced back over at Cord, wincing as he hit one of the men in the stomach.

  “I-I should go, get some rope…”

  Luke grabbed her arm as she stood. “Sit down, Kayla, backup is coming. We need to get you two warm and checked out. Just leave Cord at the moment. He’s getting some answers.”

  She glanced over again.

  “They’re Jon’s brothers,” Lily said quietly.

  Chapter Nine

  “Fucking hell,” Luke swore. “Goddamn, fucking bastards.”

  Lily weakly patted his arm, peering up at him. “They wanted to kill me for betraying him, and to murder your sister to hurt you. They blamed both of us for his death. It was meant to be a kind of tit for tat.” Lily shuddered violently.

  “Reed told me killing you would be too easy,” Kayla interjected. She hated hurting Luke this way, but it had to come out. “He was going to make you live with the knowledge that Lily and I died because you accidently killed their brother.”

  “Jesus.” Luke was pale, obviously shaken. “
So this is all because of me? The men who attacked you, who shot Nash. My God. All because of Jon?”

  “It was an accident, Luke. Reed was obviously insane. Jon died because he was driving like a maniac. Not because of you.”

  “I know,” he replied, but he looked unsure. “Why didn’t we know that Reed was Jon’s brother? How did that not come through in the background check?”

  “No one knew,” Lily answered. “Not even me. Liam, one of Jon’s brothers, told me that Reed didn’t grow up with them. He had a different mother and she didn’t name his father on his birth certificate.”

  “So how did they all meet each other?” Kayla asked.

  “Apparently Reed discovered the name of his father from his aunt after his mother died. He tracked the brothers down when he wasn’t much more than a kid. Jon took him under his wing for a bit. Reed idolized him.”

  A car raced up, door slamming as its occupant exited in a rush. Kayla let out a sigh of relief as she spotted Quinn.

  “Oh, thank God,” she breathed. Luke stood, picking Lily up as sirens sounded across the night. She wanted Cord, wanted to go home and crawl into his arms, let the safety of his embrace reassure her.

  Quinn reached her and, crouching, brushed the wet hair from her face. He shrugged out of his jacket and gently draped it around her shoulders.

  “Okay, kid?” he asked softly. Kayla attempted a smile. But it didn’t ease the concern in his eyes.

  “They’re freezing,” Luke replied. “We need to get them warm and checked over.”

  “Ambulance is coming now.” Quinn ignored Kayla’s protests and lifted her into his arms, following Luke as he walked toward the cabin. Police officers were questioning Cord and the dark-haired stranger. Cuffs had been slapped on the two men still standing as ambulance officers checked the two lying on the ground.

  “Take me to Cord,” Kayla ordered Quinn, fighting his hold when he refused to move closer. As though sensing her need, Cord turned and strode toward them. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. She returned his embrace, clasping him just as tightly.

  “Go find some blankets, will you?” he asked Quinn, who ran off into the cabin.

  “I thought I was never going to see you again,” Kayla whispered. “I thought I was going to die without telling you I love you again, without hugging you…” She let out a sob.

  “I know, baby, I know. But there is no way anything was going to happen to you. No way.”

  “Oh God, Nash. Reed drugged Nash. Someone has to check on him.”

  “Nash will be fine,” Quinn replied, returning with a blanket, which Cord wrapped around her. “Joe’s with him.”

  “We need to get you to the hospital so they can check you over,” Cord said.

  “No, Cord, we’re staying. Lily and I were kidnapped. The cops will need to speak to us.”

  He frowned sternly. “Baby, you’re cold, exhausted and traumatized. I want you checked over at the hospital. The cops can damn well come to you.”

  “No. I’m staying with you. There’s no reason for me to go to the hospital.”

  “Shh, shh,” he soothed her before his body tensed against hers.

  “We’ll need to speak to Ms. Sinclair and, Ms. Deveraux, is it?”

  She examined the police officer standing a few feet away. She hadn’t even heard him walk up. Perhaps she was a little out of it.

  Cord nodded. “You can talk to them. Once they’ve been checked over at the hospital and cleared.”

  He headed toward the waiting ambulances, not bothering to wait for the officer’s agreement. He set down Kayla on a stretcher.

  “Cord,” she protested as an EMT examined her.

  His hands clasped her face. “I won’t be far behind you, I promise. Believe me, I don’t want to let you out of my sight either. But I need to know that you’re well and being looked after while I take care of things here. I love you. Do this for me, please? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  She nodded. “I love you too.”

  He leaned down and kissed her before stepping out and shutting the door.

  * * * * *

  The next few hours were some of the longest Kayla had ever experienced. She was poked, prodded and examined at the hospital until she nearly screamed. In the end they released her with orders to rest. At least she’d gotten away. Poor Lily had to stay overnight.

  Cord and the police had arrived at the hospital as she was being released, delaying the process even further.

  But finally she was home. They’d come back to her apartment and it felt really good to be back. To gain back this piece of her life.

  Cord held her tightly in his arms. He’d insisted she go straight to bed, but as he’d soon joined her there she wasn’t complaining.

  Kayla cuddled against his side. “I’m glad you’re home, I didn’t think you’d be back for hours. That you’d wait to see what the cops found out.”

  “Sam’s there. He’s got some friends on the force. He’ll call me once he finds out anything. And I found out a few things before the cops arrived. Reed was the mastermind, which is what I thought. He got himself a job with your brothers in order to get to you. For revenge. Because he blamed Luke and Lily for Jon’s death. When they couldn’t find Lily, they focused on you. I think at least one of them will deal. I wanted to see you, hold you. God, you worried me. I couldn’t believe it when you came out of that car. My heart almost stopped.”

  “I knew you’d find me, you know.”

  “Did you?” he murmured.

  “Yep. I knew I had to stay alive and you’d find me.”

  His hand tightened in her hair. “Really? Because it looked to me like you were doing your best to provoke Reed. When he hit you—”

  “Shh. I’m fine,” she soothed him.

  He rolled, resting his weight on his arms as he glared down at her.

  “Never, ever provoke someone who is holding a gun on you, do you understand me?”

  Her lips twitched. She wasn’t at all intimidated by his growling or the fact that he’d placed himself so dominantly over her.

  “I’ll remember that next time.”

  “Kayla,” he warned.

  She rubbed her hands up his arms. “All I wanted was to tell you I love you. I kept thinking there was so much we hadn’t done, hadn’t seen, hadn’t said.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “Cord?” she asked.

  “Hmm?” he replied, running his fingers through her hair.

  “Make love to me.” She had to be close to him. And she never felt more alive than when he was touching her, inside her, loving her.

  He moved to her side. “You’re exhausted, baby.”

  “Actually, I’m feeling rather invigorated. I’m hot, I’m horny and I need to touch you. I want you, Cord.” She pushed him, straddling him once he was on his back.

  She stripped off the t-shirt she’d been wearing as a nightie. Rocking against him, she rolled her pussy against his already hard cock.

  “Kayla,” he groaned.

  “Give in. You know you want to.” Each brush of her clit against his shaft had her breath quickening. Kayla cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples lightly. His gaze immediately focused on the stiff peaks and she knew she had him.

  Cord rolled until Kayla was on her back. He moved from the bed and stood, arms folded as he stared down at her.

  She watched Cord pull off his clothes, her arousal growing with every inch of firm, silky skin he revealed.

  “I thought I was going to lose you today. I can’t ever lose you.” His voice, rough and hard, was a direct contrast to the gentleness with which he parted her legs, exposing her damp folds. He knelt between her legs. Kayla wet her lips, her sheath clenching at the approval in his eyes as he stared at her so intimately.

  “Cord?”

  “Yes?” His voice was more a guttural groan.

  “Take my ass. Make me truly yours.”

  He gazed at her intently as if gauging whether s
he really wanted this. Then his eyes darkened. “You’ve always been mine.”

  Cord ran a finger through her folds, gathering up her moisture. Heat blasted her core, making her whimper. Kayla was putty in his hands as he pulled her legs over his shoulders and cupped her butt, raising her until her folds were a mere inch from his mouth.

  Cord blew against her exposed pussy, his gaze piercing as she quivered in pleasure. Then he thrust his stiff tongue inside her, exploring the walls of her sheath before teasing her G-spot, making her scream with shock and delight, her heels digging into his back as pulsing beats of pleasure raced through her.

  Cord drove her up to the peak before backing off, letting her fall away from the edge. Then he started again, driving her up until she was begging, her cries incoherent as tears streamed down her face.

  “Cord, please, please.” Her words were garbled, incomprehensible as a river of raging heat swiftly swept her away to another place. A magical place of desire, heat, touch.

  Large hands kneaded her bottom before Cord returned to her clit, alternately flicking and swirling around the distended nub with his tongue.

  “I can’t stand it,” she moaned.

  “Prolonging the pleasure will only make it more intense,” he said. But she heard the strain in his voice.

  “It’s intense enough,” Kayla protested. “Any more intense and I’ll die. Please, Cord, take me there.”

  “You don’t need that tonight. You need some TLC.”

  “Don’t tell me what I need. I know what I need. You. Taking all of me.”

  Sweat coated her body as he entered her with one hard thrust.

  “You owe me,” she near snarled. “You’ve been teasing me so much it’s time to come through.”

  “I was preparing you, minx.”

  “Does it feel like I’m not ready? I want you to take me there. Now.”

  Cord drew back and rolled her onto her stomach, pushing two pillows under her hips, raising her up.

  He pushed her legs apart and she looked over her shoulder at his cock. Somehow it seemed even larger than normal.