Steele Family Romance Collection

by Cami Checketts

  “Sutton,” Gunner greeted him. He paced away into the living room.

  “Bella Jolie’s gone insane,” Sutton started.

  Gunner didn’t think that was any kind of surprise or new information.

  “It’s all over the telly. The wanky woman is claiming you’ve kidnapped her daughter. She’s canned me. I’m issuing a statement to the media and law enforcement now. We have the proof that she’s hired us and most of the police will know the truth quickly, but you need to proceed cautiously until I clear it up. She’s lost the plot and has no idea who she’s messing with.”

  “Why would she hire us then turn it around like this?”

  “Publicity? I don’t know. Why do dodgy people do anything? I want you and Lily back here. Both of my planes are in South America and can’t be to me until the morning. Stay with Klein tonight, and we’ll get a charter to fly you out in the morning. You’re as safe with Klein as anywhere. Unfortunately, those dodgy blokes that chased you were only detained for an hour, so they could be coming. My reports were the police couldn’t find their guns, they probably had a compartment or hid them in the fields, and when they couldn’t find police records on either of them, they let them off. No witnesses was their other excuse. The men claimed they were hired by Bella Jolie to find her daughter, and they were chasing you, the supposed kidnapper, when you locked up the brakes and wrecked their truck.”

  Gunner didn’t know that he’d ever heard Sutton this exasperated. Bella Jolie had set him and Sutton up? Why? What else was she planning? Something was tingling in his brain, and he didn’t like it. “Sutton?” He glanced back at Klein and Lily. They were watching him, talking in low voices. Gunner strode through a patio door, shutting it behind him. He was on a rear patio overlooking a grassy area with the forest beyond.

  “Yes?” Sutton asked into the pause.

  “Sorry, I wanted a bit of privacy. I recognize Bella Jolie set us up, but do you think she really wants Lily dead? She obviously hired those men to come after Lily, and they didn’t hold anything back when they were shooting at us.”

  “You think a mum would kill her own daughter?”

  “Bella Jolie? Maybe. Remember how she said she was tracking Lily through the microchip implant in her cheek?”

  Sutton cursed, and then demanded, “Get it out. Klein has the experience. The police are still in commotion about you. I don’t dare put in a request for them to come protect you.”

  “Klein and I can handle it.”

  “Change of plans, get out of there as soon as you have the implant out,” Sutton demanded. “Klein will help you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Gunner glanced around the quiet yard. Those men had been tracking Lily and the police had let them go. How long did he have until they appeared again?

  Lily was attempting to listen to another one of Klein’s outrageous stories, but her mind was outside with Gunner. He’d looked upset and concerned, very un-Gunner-like. What was going on? He’d said something about a “she” who’d hired them, it had to be her mother. Would her mother’s wicked influence never stop?

  Gunner burst back through the door, slamming and dead-bolting it behind him. His eyes had a desperate glaze to them she never thought she’d see on a man so confident and tough.

  “Gunner?” She started toward him.

  His gaze raked over her, and he muttered in a low, disturbing tone, “Ah, Lily.” Then he focused on Klein. “Sutton claims you can remove a microchip implant …” He glanced down, clenched his fist then focused on Lily again. “It’s in her cheek.”

  Lily’s hand flew to her right cheek. Her stomach dropped to the floor. “What are you talking about?”

  “I can remove it,” Klein said, more somber than she’d seen him. “Let me get my tools.”

  “Make sure your security is fully armed first,” Gunner said. “Those men probably know our location and aren’t far behind. The police couldn’t detain them.”

  “It’s always fully armed,” Klein shot back, as if Gunner had offended him. He hurried from the room.

  Lily stared at Gunner, releasing her hand from her face. “What’s going on?”

  Gunner stormed across the room toward her. He clasped both of her hands with his. “It’ll be okay, Lily. Klein and I can protect you.” He gave her half of a smile. “I have clothes and weapons now.”

  “Those men are coming,” she said.

  He simply nodded.

  “What’s in my cheek?”

  Gunner drew in a breath and squeezed her hands. “Bella Jolie inserted a microchip in your cheek when you had your wisdom teeth out at seventeen.”

  Lily’s stomach rolled, and she had to swallow back bile. “She’s been tracking me?”

  “For years.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Gunner shrugged. “I wasn’t trying to keep it from you, it just … hadn’t come up yet.”

  “Hadn’t come up yet?” She pulled her hands free and punched him in the chest. He hardly flinched, but her hand burned from the impact. “Don’t keep crap from me!”

  Gunner nodded seriously. “I’m sorry. Honestly, I thought it was odd when she shared the information in our meeting and I shelved it in my mind, never imagining she’d use the tracker to hurt you. I recognized she was a crazy diva, but I couldn’t have anticipated she’d claim I kidnapped you and have men after you shooting to kill. What kind of a mother does that?”

  “My mother.” Lily felt dark and dirty like she always did when her mother was around. She was nothing more than a tool to get her mother sympathy, publicity, or money. “She claims you’ve kidnapped me?”

  He nodded.

  “I’m sorry, too,” she said.

  Gunner did smile then. “Don’t be, Lily, none of this is your fault and despite the mess, I’m glad I met you.”

  Lily knew that was as close to Gunner declaring he liked her as she might get, at least for a while. Her eyes darted nervously to the windows. “You think those men are coming.”

  “It’s likely.” He gently cradled her cheek. “Klein needs to take the tracker out. Will you be okay?”

  Lily’s stomach pitched again. This would hurt. “Yes.”

  “You’re brave and beautiful,” Gunner said, his eyes echoing the compliment.

  “Did that hurt you?”

  Gunner smiled and trailed his fingers down her cheek. “Not at all.”

  Klein rushed back into the room. “Sorry, love, not the time to pash.”

  Lily sighed, afraid she and Gunner would never get the time to “pash”.

  “If you’ll come this way.” Klein turned and they fell into step behind him. Lily hated the apprehension, anger, and betrayal. She should be way past Bella Jolie being able to create any feelings in her, but she was suddenly a child again in her mother’s power.

  Some foreign object was in her cheek. A tracker. Her mother loathed everything about Lily and her choices in life, and she’d told Lily, any chance she got throughout her childhood, how despicable and pathetic she was. Why would Bella Jolie even care to keep tabs on her?

  They went up a wide staircase, across a landing, and into what she assumed was the master suite. There was a small table of supplies next to a couch.

  “Okay, love, you’re going to lie down right here.” Klein glanced at Gunner. “You go wash up, in case I need some help.”

  Gunner released her hand and walked into the master bath. Lily was kind of hoping for some reassurance, but he probably didn’t know how this surgery was going to go any better than she did.

  “What are you going to do?” Lily asked apprehensively, lying on the couch and praying it wouldn’t hurt too badly. Her palms were sweaty, and she wasn’t sure she could lie still while he cut into her cheek. She wanted it out. She’d have Gunner hold her down, and she’d deal with the pain.

  “It’s no worries, love.” He held up a syringe. “This little beaut is full of lidocaine. A couple shots and you won’t feel a thing.”

  “Oh, thank
you.” Lily’s breath rushed out. She would’ve gone through the pain, but knowing she didn’t have to was such a relief.

  “Of course, I wouldn’t want the beaut of a Sheila to have pain. Now this is going to be a little pinch and a sting.”

  Gunner walked back out of the bathroom as Klein pushed the needle into her cheek. It was a big pinch and stung as if a bee had penetrated her cheek. Lily gritted her teeth, clenched her fingernails into her palms, and counted slowly back from ten.

  Gunner rushed to her side. “Is she okay?” It reminded her of when she’d crashed wakeboarding, and he dove in to check on her. He truly cared, and it meant a lot.

  “I’m just numbing it.”

  “I’m glad you had something.”

  The stinging sensation went away, but then Klein plunged the needle in another spot. Lily instinctively jerked and may have whimpered.

  “It’s okay, love, all better soon,” Klein said.

  Gunner moved closer but with Klein sitting right next to the couch, he couldn’t get very close. Lily knew she was being a complete wimp, but she wanted to touch him. She’d been so independent, even as a child, that she’d never felt this tug to be close to someone and let them nurture her.

  She lifted her left hand over her head. Gunner came around above her head and clasped her hand, staring down at her. He looked much too serious, much too concerned about her. Was the tough, military boy falling for her? She could understand why he was confused, but she was confused too and taking every small cue as a sign that he was into her.

  “How do you know where to look for it?” Gunner asked.

  Klein plunged the needle in again, but thankfully the numbing was taking effect, and she couldn’t feel much more than a pinch. He patted her shoulder and set the needle to the side. “Let’s give that a couple of minutes to take effect.” Glancing up at Gunner, he muttered, “I’ve taken a few … hundred of these out.”

  “What? Why?”

  Lily’s thoughts exactly. A microchip in someone’s cheek had to be pretty rare, didn’t it? She’d heard of parents putting them in children to keep them safe and people putting them in their dogs, but it wasn’t something you heard of often.

  Klein leaned back in the chair and stared at the fireplace behind them. There was a picture of him and a petite blonde on the mantle. “Wasn’t my Marley a beaut?” he asked.

  Lily’s cheek was going numb, thankfully. Releasing Gunner’s hand, she sat up to see the picture more clearly. Marley was indeed very beautiful, and Klein looked so happy.

  “Yes, she was.” Staying upright, she reached out her hand again. Gunner took it and settled on the edge of the couch.

  “She had a heart of gold too. Her cause was rescuing those who’d been trafficked.”

  Lily felt a chill rush over her. Trafficking was the most horrific of crimes. She’d gotten to know some men who fought trafficking while she lived in Texas. She’d learned how those who were taken were abused in the most appalling ways imaginable. It made her nauseous, and she had to shut the thoughts out, or she’d go in a downward spiral of sorrow for the victims. She wanted to somehow get trained well enough to join the fight against slavery. She clung to Gunner’s hand.

  “We never could have our own little ones, so we worked to free children who’d been taken and return them to their families.” His gaze focused back on Lily. “Many of those sold into slavery have chips implanted just like the one I suspect is in your cheek. I learned from a doc how to remove the chips.” His eyes clouded over. “And sometimes I had to do it fast to rescue a little one and keep them from being retaken.”

  Lily’s stomach was not settling down. “Excuse me,” she murmured. Standing quickly, she rushed for the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. She lost the contents of her stomach and felt uneasy and dizzy when she stood up. Rinsing her mouth and splashing water on her face and neck, she washed her hands over and over again. Children taken, implanted with a chip so they couldn’t escape, abused, used. She loathed trafficking. If only she could help somehow, make a difference like Klein and his Marley had. It had to be through her defense skills as she never had extra money to contribute to any cause.

  There was some mouthwash on the counter. With trembling fingers she screwed off the top, poured some in her mouth, rinsed, and spit. It was an odd sensation with half her mouth numb.

  A soft knock came at the door. “Lily?” Gunner’s voice.

  Lily walked on trembling legs to the door. Opening it, she focused on him. This man was so strong and brave. Protection and honor seemed to be written all over him.

  “You okay?”

  Lily forced a smile. “I … I hate trafficking.”

  “Me too.” His dark eyes were soft as they swept over her. “Can I do anything for you?”

  “Hold me?” The words were quiet and kind of squeaky.

  Gunner’s eyes softened even more. He opened his arms and stepped into the bathroom. Gathering her close, he simply held her. After a few wonderful seconds of his comforting presence surrounding her, reassuring her that no one could ever hurt her if he was close, he said softly, “Do you have … experience with trafficking?”

  “I’ve been to a couple of seminars about it and got to know some men who fought it when I lived in Texas.” She bit at her lip and when he didn’t say anything, finally admitted, “I always felt like a slave to my mother. She sometimes physically hurt me, but mostly it was emotional. She belittled me nonstop, and I was never allowed to go anywhere with friends or do school activities or sports, that type of thing.” She sighed. “She claimed it was to protect me from people trying to use me because of how famous my parents were, but I knew it was all a control issue with her. It’s nothing compared to what someone who’s in slavery deals with, but I feel like I can relate, a little bit.”

  “I’m sorry,” was all he said, but the strength and warmth in his embrace said a lot.

  “Gunner?” Klein’s call was frantic. “We’ve got company.”

  Gunner released her, grabbed her hand, and ran with her back to Klein’s side. He had an iPad that showed a camera angle of barbed wire fence and thick forest. Through the trees two men were visible, one had wire cutters and the other held a machine gun.

  “No,” Lily breathed. They’d found her. She wanted this tracker out of her cheek, now.

  The guy with the wire cutters clamped them onto the fence, and went flying backward.

  “Ripper!” Klein yelled. “That’ll slow them down. You can’t detect my electric fence until you touch it.” He grinned. “Come on, love, let’s get this out of your cheek and get you two on your way.”

  Lily completely agreed, but she didn’t want those men to get to Klein. “What if they get through your fence?”

  “Oh, they probably will.” Klein smiled. “Give me some fun I haven’t had in a while.” He shoved the iPad at Gunner. “Keep an eye on them.”

  Lily lay down on the couch. Klein lifted a scalpel and scissors. She closed her eyes so she didn’t see him coming at her with those.

  “Open wide, love.”

  Lily obeyed. Her cheek was completely numb so she didn’t feel anything but the pressure of his fingers in her mouth and the metallic taste of blood. She swallowed some blood inadvertently and wished she could go rinse and spit again.

  “Got it,” Klein said triumphantly.

  Ally opened her eyes as he held up a tiny metal piece. He dropped it with the supplies, and then put some gauze in her mouth.

  “Hold that in place and the bleeding will stop pretty quickly. Luckily the mouth heals fast, and I found it on the second try so there’s minimal damage.”

  “Thank you,” she mumbled around the gauze. A sense of freedom, similar to what she felt when she told her mother where to go, six years ago, washed over her. She hadn’t even known she was being tracked, yet now she was truly free. Fear snuck in. Free if they could escape from those men and confront Bella Jolie. Would Gunner be the one by her side to help Lily truly m
ake the final break from her mother?

  “Sure thing,” Klein said. “Let’s get you two out of here, so I can have some real fun.” He grinned like a little boy with his first BB gun.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Gunner’s eyes kept flicking from the men on the small screen to Lily. He didn’t like seeing Klein stick that scalpel into her mouth, and he liked even less hearing how horrible her mother was to her. Lily was just a pawn to Bella Jolie, but would she really kill her own daughter? It was surprising him less and less that she’d tricked him and Sutton into thinking she had a stalker. He’d bet she was the one who alerted the media to the fake stalker and hiring the famous Sutton Smith. Was the kidnapping ploy only to bring her more attention? Was she planning on these men killing Lily and Gunner then somehow turning that into a media stunt?

  “Got it,” Klein said.

  Gunner released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He glanced back at the camera. The jolt from the electric fence had knocked the guy down but hadn’t killed him. They were both back up and paced for a minute before starting to shoot at the fence with their weapons. That didn’t do much for them either. They climbed back into their truck and Gunner couldn’t believe they’d give up that easily. They’d obviously scouted the place to know they needed wire cutters to get through the fence. Unfortunately for the one guy, Klein’s electric fence had been high-tech and undetectable.

  “Let’s get you two out of here,” he heard Klein say. Standing, Gunner held on to the iPad. “Any luck for those mongrels?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Cracky. Keep an eye on them, I have a plan.” He rushed in front of them. Lily hurried after him, holding a piece of gauze in her cheek.

  “You okay?” Gunner asked as he took up the rear.

  “Yeah,” she murmured around the gauze.