Gilded Cage (Harbour Bay Book 6)

by Camille Taylor

  The impact of bodies hitting her as they tried to escape slowed her down, knocking her left and right, forward and back. She whispered Declan’s name in hopes of conjuring the man himself before her. She needed him.

  A cold chill descended as a man strode intently towards her. She backed away from him hurriedly when her gaze fell upon the gun in his hand. She slammed into Jesse’s back and he turned, pushing her away just as another blast vibrated through the club.

  Terrified screams cried out and she felt a warm splatter on her face. Reaching up slowly, she wiped at her cheek as Jesse fell to the ground. A piercing scream beside her threatened to blow her eardrum and dazed, she turned to Ashley who stared down at her brother’s remains.

  Tears swamped Bethany’s eyes and blurred her vision. Unable to move, unable to speak, she locked herself inside her own body. She hit the dirty club floor hard. Her breath escaped her lungs as a familiar heavy body covered her own. Beneath her, she could smell alcohol, vomit and sweat that stained the hardwood floor. Another blast shook the room. The vibrations raced through her body. The shrill scream cut off abruptly. She slammed her eyes shut. She knew right then that Ashley Copeland—like her brother—was dead.

  Her body trembled. Declan jerked her to her feet. His strong arm moved around her waist as he forced her into a run, keeping his body directly behind her, taking the weight of her body as her legs gave way more than one.

  The shaking grew worse and Declan cursed in her ear. She blankly wondered where he was taking her since they had moved away from the general swarm of people trying to escape the club and had gone in a different direction. Declan kept her moving, driving a hard pace until she was winded, a stitch aching in her side.

  Within seconds the cold night air enveloped her. She neither recalled how she gotten out or where exactly she was and she didn’t care. She felt nothing but emptiness inside as she was pushed around the corner. A short distance away she could see the family car, an oasis in a desert. She stumbled as her heel broke, losing her balance. Just before she hit the ground, Declan caught hold of her, once again righting her body when she couldn’t. He opened the back door and pushed her down onto the black leather seat before joining her.

  “Go!” He yelled at Quinn who immediately stamped down on the accelerator. The tyres squealed against the asphalt as they sped out of the parking spot.

  Chapter 29

  Declan turned his attention from the back window and gazed down at Bethany. Blood, almost black in the darkness had splattered against her face. She hadn’t moved since he’d dumped her unceremoniously on the floor of the car.

  “Are you okay?”

  Should he tell Davies to head towards the hospital instead of the mansion?

  Bethany peered up at him with glazed, unseeing eyes. She whimpered, her body trembling. Was it from the shock, the cold, or both?

  With one hand still holding his gun, ready to use it should it become necessary, Declan ran his free hand over Bethany’s body checking for injuries. When she didn’t gasp or flinch away from any pain, he assumed her to be relatively okay.

  Lights appeared behind them, gaining speed. He cursed. His night was far from over.

  “Stay down.” He wound down the window, aligned his shot and fired. The SUV swerved, narrowly avoiding the bullet and a street sign.

  The car jerked under the older man’s control. “Don’t worry about what I’m doing. Just keep your eyes on the road.”

  He fired another shot, this one hitting the passenger side windscreen, splintering the glass and then he wasn’t the only one shooting. The man in the SUV returned fire.

  The Aurion’s back window shattered. Glass rained down on Beth. Declan kept his mind solely focused on their pursuer. Davies took a sharp turn and Declan grabbed the door to keep from sliding across the seat. He slammed down on the accelerator as they exited the turn, the Bennett car shooting off into the night.

  Several pings of metal against metal told him they’d taken several hits. The chassis of the car would be seriously damaged, if not irreparable.

  He took his time, not firing widely or blindly. There had already been too many casualties this August night. The SUV veered up onto the footpath to avoid the bullet, taking out a public garbage bin. Shit, Donovan was going to have his arse for this. But he’d deal with that later. His shot hit the right front tyre and their pursuer lost control and crashed into the nearest parked car.

  Declan felt torn. The cop in him wanted Davies to stop so he could arrest the driver for reckless endangerment—for starters, especially if he was the same man that had been in the club. His hunch said they weren’t dealing with more than one assassin. It appeared Hunter was no longer making idol threats. The protector in him knew he had to get Bethany out of immediate danger and someplace safe which unfortunately for him were at odds which each other.

  Beth’s eyes were closed. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing. Worried that his earlier assessment of her condition had been wrong, he felt for her pulse. Her eyes jerked open, and stark terror had her baby blues wide and darting. Beneath his fingers, her pulse throbbed rapidly.

  He’d messed up tonight. He’d gotten too involved with her, had been more concerned over her psychological health than he had her physical.

  If it hadn’t of been for the kid, Bethany would be dead right about now. But Declan doubted she was feeling any appreciation.

  Her pale face glowed like a beacon in the darkness of the backseat. Silent tears were revealed by passing streetlights.

  Soon they arrived at the security gates guarding the Bennett estate. Declan never thought he’d see them as anything remotely resembling welcoming, but tonight they were. The knowledge Beth would be safe behind the unscaleable fences.

  Davies parked the car. Declan got out, reached into the backseat and dragged Beth towards him, her skirt hiking up to her thighs. He carried her inside, placing her down just inside the kitchen. Davies closed and locked the door behind him and set the security alarm.

  Declan thoroughly inspected Beth in the light. As he’d noted in the car, her face had been covered in blood drops and coloured her hair red. He urged her towards the sink, snagging a tea towel and dampening it before reaching out to remove the crimson specks.

  Bethany’s eyes flashed and she jerked away at the first touch of the wet cloth.

  “I’m not a child!”

  Declan breathed a sigh of relief at the outburst of anger. It meant that she would be all right. The shock slowly dissipating now that she was safe in her sanctuary where nothing had ever touched her.

  The worst was yet to come, he knew, when she would remember the evening with clarity, would feel every bit of hurt and there was nothing he could do to protect her from that pain.

  “You’ve got blood all over you.”

  She glanced up at the window, her reflection staring back at her. Her body shook.

  Declan unable to stand watching her fight against the emotions she was feeling, reached out.

  She backed away. “Don’t touch me.”

  His heart sliced open as she dazedly made her way up the stairs. He wanted to follow her. Ensure she was okay. Physically, if not mentally. He wanted to soothe and comfort her but that wasn’t his job.

  Declan made a call. James Hawke answered, his voice almost drowned out by the mix of voices and movement surrounding him.

  “What do you want? I’m busy.”

  “Let me guess, you’re at Velocity?”

  Hawke sighed heavily into the phone and Declan could imagine the detective running his fingers through his hair. “Something I should know? Were you involved in this?”

  Declan massaged the kink out of his neck with his hand. “I was there.”

  “Shit, figures. Have you noticed lately you seem to be in the thick of things?”

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed. How’s the boss?”

  “Not happy. Apparently, there’s been a few calls to police about gunshots fired south of here, some property has also
been damaged. You again?”

  “Yeah. When should I expect you?”

  “Not until tomorrow morning, the afternoon in the latest. This crime scene is a doozy. Blood and glass everywhere. How’s Bethany?”

  Declan heard the honest concern in Hawke’s voice. “She’s in really bad shape. She watched her friend get murdered tonight. I don’t think she’ll ever be all right.”

  “I’ve got two bodies here.”

  He moved about the house, checking all security measures were in place.

  “Jesse and Ashley Copeland. The perp followed Beth and me out of the club. We made it to the car and down the street before he started following. You’ll find the SUV wrapped around a parked car on Carver.”

  “He’s getting desperate. He was willing to go at her in a crowded room. Watch your back.”

  “I will. Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He hung up from Hawke and immediately dialled another number, one he looked less forward to making. Amelia Donovan answered on the first ring.

  “O’Neill here, just checking what time my arse chewing is at.”

  “Don’t push me, O’Neill. I expect a full debrief.”

  Declan let out a deep breath. “You’re not going to like it.”

  “Oh, I’m fully aware of that.”

  Declan began at the beginning; it was over an hour before he said goodbye. The moment he hung up, something caught his attention. He listened intently to the quiet house. An occasional creak not belonging to the house had muscles tensing. He drew his weapon. Alert and ready, he exited the sunroom.

  Shuffling feet against the carpet came to him from the dead of the night. He moved on the balls of his feet so as not to make a sound and alert his pray. He was a ghost.

  A figure walked past the open doorway inside the kitchen. Declan calmed his body, already coiled for attack. His finger rested beside the trigger, ready to squeeze at a second’s notice.

  He stepped forward, barely registering the shock of the cool tile of the kitchen beneath his bare feet. His hand groped and found the light switch. A second later, light flooded the room.

  Relief filled him. “Jesus, Bethany.”

  He let his gun hand drop.

  Chapter 30

  Bethany blinked at the sudden blindness. Her head pounded and she sought relief.

  Declan’s face came into focus as he tucked his weapon away. “What are you doing up?”

  “Can’t sleep.”

  She felt cold, colder than she had ever been before. She’d finally stopped shaking but now she couldn’t get warm.

  Every time she closed her eyes she saw Jesse lying in a pool of blood. Her ears rang with Ashley’s screams and then all of a sudden there was nothing but deathly silence.

  They were dead.

  How could that be? Just hours ago, they had been laughing…dancing. They were alive—so alive.

  It was all her fault. She should never have gone out tonight. If she hadn’t they would still be alive. She had a fist with her hand and pounded against the wall. Sharp pain rocketed up her arm and she took the punishment.

  She would never forgive herself, didn’t deserve it. Guilt gnawed on her insides.

  “Every time I close my eyes I see them.” Her lip quivered and her voice broke.

  She poured a healthy glass of her father’s fifty-year-old scotch and downed the golden liquid, spluttering as it burned her throat. She poured again, determined to drink herself into a stupor.

  Bethany had never gotten drunk before. Never had a reason to—until tonight and she was on a mission to do so. Nothing was going to stand in her way.

  “That shit is not going to help you.”

  Her eyes watered and she fought against the need to gag. She went for another refill, her hands shaking, slipping some of the liquid onto the kitchen counter. She saluted him with the glass.

  “No? We’ll see about that.” She drank. There was no trouble getting it down that time. Her body had finally stopped fighting her. She felt like she had won a battle.

  “This is no way to get over your fear.”

  She glared at Declan. “Go to bed, Declan.”

  “Not until you do, Beth.”

  She snorted. “Well make yourself comfortable because I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to get rip-roaring drunk. Why don’t you join me?”

  “Beth—”

  “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to acknowledge anything about earlier. I just want to forget. So here I am—forgetting.”

  She poured another drink. Before she could even bring the glass to her lips, Declan was in front of her, relieving her of the glass and swallowing the Scotch.

  He slammed the glass down hard on the counter, surprised filled her when it didn’t shatter. “No more.”

  “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”

  Declan blocked her path with his big body. “No more, Bethany.” His breath, like his words, whispered across her face.

  Her lip quivered, her resolve almost breaking at those three quiet words.

  “Don’t make me go back there. Please. No.” A sob escaped, she couldn’t face the nightmares ready to take her. “You protected me too well. You should’ve saved them. I’m the one he’s after. Me. It’s not fair. How can I face tomorrow knowing they’re dead? Life will go on for me but not for Ashley or Jesse. He was lying in a pool of his own blood you know. I’ve never seen that much blood before. I’ve never been that scared before. But I’m still breathing, still living. It should be me that’s dead. I’m who they’re after.”

  “It’s not your fault, Bethany.”

  “Isn’t it? I’m the one with a bounty on my fucking head. I might as well have a bullseye painted on my forehead.”

  He blinked when she said ‘fucking’. She didn’t often swear so hearing it now probably surprised him.

  “Nothing is going to happen to you, Bethany.”

  “Not tonight, but what about tomorrow? Or the day after that. You can’t protect me forever, Declan and there will always be something—someone out there who would see me dead.”

  “It will never be all right, what happened tonight. But it will get better, easier to deal with.”

  “Does life mean anything to you?”

  She snagged the bottle from the bench and stalked out of the kitchen. Declan moved quickly and was on her before she had taken more than a few steps. He relieved the bottle from her hands in one deft action. She fought him like a wildcat.

  “Stop it, just stop it.”

  He took the bottle from her and took a swig before slamming it hard against the counter and turned to her. He grabbed her upper arms in a harsh grip and jerked her to him, his lips crushing hers as he took possession of her.

  His tongue swept inside her mouth, rasping against her own. She stiffened in shock before melting.

  She clung to him as she was swept up on a sea of sensations. His tongue took her again and again. She pressed herself against him and delighted in the feeling of his hard body crushing hers.

  He left her for a moment and she made a sound of protest. She couldn’t allow him to walk away. Not now when she was all fired up. She needed him. Needed him to finish what he’d started.

  “Don’t stop. I want this. I need this. Please.”

  She reached for him.

  Without a word, he lifted her. Her vision blurred as he moved with ease up the stairs. The buzz from her drinks evaporated as something much headier settled over her.

  Bethany’s skin tingled. She kissed him, loving the feel of his lips against hers and his tongue in her mouth. He took. He gave. He played. He teased. And every sweep drove her mad.

  Her back pressed into the mattress. Declan stood before her, unbuttoning his shirt. He jerked it from his pants and shrugging out it, allowed the fabric to float to the carpet.

  Bethany’s heart pounded as she took in Declan’s hard chest with the light dusting of hair that hid his male nipples and worked its way down his abdomen
and disappeared beneath his pants.

  Her throat dried as he crawled beside her and reached out, relieving her of her pyjama shirt. She shivered as the cool air touched her skin and her nipples puckered.

  Declan’s eyes narrowed on the hard buds and his body stiffened. His breathing increased. Bending forward, he blew on the nearest one. Bethany tensed as her blood heated and desire coursed heavily through her body, heading in just one direction. She shivered again but this time in heat and not because of the cold.

  “Do you know how many times I’ve fantasised about your breasts? They’re even better than I imagined. So firm. So ripe.” His words ended with a groan.

  He did want her! She’d been wrong thinking the attraction had been one-sided.

  Her breathing accelerated, her chest to rising and falling rhythmically. Declan grinned wickedly as he took the left nipple into his mouth and sucked. Her body jolted with surprise and her hips rose automatically. With his hand, he weighed her free breast, moulding it as he took her to another height of pleasure, stoking the nipple with his thumb.

  She struggled against the surprising sensations overtaking her body. But neither did she want them to stop. They were the sweetest torture. Her grief momentarily pushed back in her mind as pleasure beyond her wildest imagination overtook her senses.

  Declan kissed his way down the valley between her breasts to her stomach, dipping his tongue into the small hollow of her belly button. Her womb contracted and she moaned.

  With one deft move, Declan shucked her pants and she was suddenly naked. Her skin burned from his touch.

  Her heart thumped. Her brain had barely caught up to her current situation. Wings took flight in her belly. She wet her lips.

  This is what she’d wanted for so long. What she’d dreamed about without really knowing. Nothing felt as good as she did right that second.